Bush plans bid to rally Iraq support; will invoke WWII & 9/11 [View All]

[Bush_Eats_Beef]

Bush plans bid to rally Iraq support
Texas protests continue as Republicans disagree on conflict

Monday, August 22, 2005; Posted: 8:13 a.m. EDT (12:13 GMT)

http://www.cnn.com/2005/POLITICS/08/21/bush.iraq/index.html

CRAWFORD, Texas (CNN) -- President Bush will launch a new round of speeches to rally support for the war in Iraq, advisers said Sunday, as protesters camped outside Bush's Texas home and polls showed weaker support for the two-year conflict. Senior aides say Bush will attempt to portray the Iraq conflict in the context of long wars like World War II, which U.S. forces fought from 1941 to 1945. They said the president also will invoke the September 11, 2001, attacks, arguing once again that the insurgents battling American troops in Iraq share the same ideology as the al Qaeda operatives who crashed hijacked jetliners into the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and a Pennsylvania field.

"We're advancing freedom in the broader Middle East. We are removing a source of violence and instability, and laying the foundation of peace for our children and our grandchildren." But his remarks did little to move public opinion. A CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll conducted August 5-7 found that 54 percent of those surveyed thought the 2003 invasion of Iraq was a mistake. (Full story)

The Iraq issue has followed Bush into his planned five-week vacation in Crawford, where dozens of antiwar demonstrators have set up a makeshift camp near his ranch. The protesters are led by Cindy Sheehan, whose son, Casey, was killed in Iraq in April 2004.

Hundreds of white crosses commemorating U.S. soldiers killed in Iraq are now planted just outside Bush's property, and the demonstrators drew support Sunday from folk singer Joan Baez. "I think Cindy and the women have impeccable credentials -- no matter how hard people try to slander and assassinate their personalities, it is impeccable credentials," Baez said. "I think they simply can't be not listened to." White House officials concede Sheehan's vigil has drawn much more attention than they anticipated.



Aides say Bush will attempt to portray the Iraq conflict in the context of long wars like World War II.