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| Sunday, 10 August 2003 |
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Bush mourns 56 deaths in 100 days since Iraq war ended CRAWFORD, Texas, Satuday (AFP) US President George W. Bush Friday lauded successes in Iraq, despite the 56 US troops who have died there in the 100 days since he declared the fighting all but over. "Iraq is more secure. The economy of Iraq is beginning to improve," Bush said at his Texas ranch. "We've made a lot of progress in 100 days. And we're pleased with the progress, but we know we've got a lot more work to do." The president paid tribute to the 56 US soldiers who have died in combat since May 1, when Bush declared major fighting over only a few weeks after Saddam Hussein was toppled from power. "We suffer when we lose life," he said. Speaking a day after a car bomb attack at the Jordanian embassy in Baghdad which killed 13 and wounded at least 50, Bush again refused to give an indication as to how long US troops would be in the country. Bush appointed one of his major political fundraisers, Thomas Foley, to run Iraqi state-owned businesses and to draw up a sweeping privatization plan. Bush was not in Washington, where the White House released a report indicating that toppled Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein had supplied arms to al-Qaeda, the group behind the September 11, 2001, attacks on the United States. "A senior al-Qaeda terrorist, now detained, who had been responsible for al-Qaeda training camps in Afghanistan, reports that al-Qaeda was intent on obtaining (weapons of mass destruction) assistance from Iraq," the White House said in a statement. Bush cited cited links between al-Qaeda and Saddam as justification for attacking Iraq. He had also insisted Saddam had chemical and biological weapons and was pursuing nuclear weapons, although none has been found in the 100 days since the war. Baghdad, meanwhile, still reeled from the Jordanian embassy bombing, as two more victims died from their wounds, raising the death toll to 13. As many as 12 US soldiers, meanwhile, were wounded in attacks in northern and western Iraq. |
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