In
a speech to US soldiers at a military base on Tuesday, Bush said, "as
the Iraq democracy succeeds, that success is sending a message from
Beirut to Tehran that freedom can be the future of every nation".
"The
establishment of a free Iraq at the heart of the Middle East will be a
crushing defeat to the forces of tyranny and terror, and a watershed
event in the global democratic revolution," the president said.
Bush
stopped short of setting a deadline for withdrawing the roughly 140,000
US troops in Iraq, but said the day they would leave had drawn closer
as the number of trained Iraqi security forces had grown.
Winning war
"Iraq security forces are becoming more self-reliant
and taking on greater responsibilities. And that means that America and
its coalition partners are increasingly playing more of a supporting
role," he said.
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It has been two years since
US-led forces toppled Hussein |
"Today,
more than 150,000 Iraqi security forces have been trained and equipped,
and for the first time, the Iraqi army, police and security forces now
outnumber US forces in Iraq."
Bush, wearing a military-style jacket, opened his
speech with a somewhat timid version of the traditional US
military "Hoo-ah!" cheer, which was echoed by the roughly 25,000
soldiers on hand.
"The Iraqi people know the
sacrifices you are making. They're grateful to you. They are grateful
to your families," he said.
About 1550 US soldiers have been killed in Iraq since the March 2003 invasion.
"You are making possible the peace of Iraq, and you
are making possible the security of free nations. Yours is noble work,
it's important work, and I thank you for assuming your duty," the
US president added.
Historical milestone
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"The toppling of
Saddam Hussein's statue in Baghdad will be recorded, alongside the fall
of the Berlin Wall, as one of the great moments in the
history of liberty"
President Bush |