Marking the fourth anniversary of the Iraq war, President George W. Bush warned sceptical Americans on Monday that a swift troop withdrawal would have "devastating" consequences for US security.
With polls showing him near the weakest point of his presidency, Bush defended his Iraq policy to a nation increasingly opposed to the war and unsupportive of his drive to send in nearly 30,000 additional troops.
Bush, in a televised statement from the White House, appealed to Americans for patience while acknowledging they could expect more "bad days" ahead. As the war entered its fifth year since a US-led invasion toppled Saddam Hussein, insurgents kept up the pressure with bombings in Kirkuk and Baghdad. Iraq remains bogged down in sectarian violence bordering on civil war.
"Four years after this war began, the fight is difficult but it can be won," Bush said. "It will be won if we have the courage and resolve to see it through."
While pointing to signs of progress, Bush stuck to his refusal to set a timetable for a US pullout despite stepped-up pressure from the new Democratic-led Congress.
"It can be tempting to look at the challenges in Iraq and conclude our best option is to pack up and go home. That may be satisfying in the short run, but I believe the consequences for American security would be devastating," he said.
The House of Representatives is preparing to debate a proposal that would tie approval of emergency war funds to a troop pullout by September 2008.
Bush has threatened to veto any such measure. Anti-war protesters mounted demonstrations in Washington and other US cities over the weekend.
Bush announced in January he was sending 21,500 additional troops to Iraq mostly to secure Baghdad, a build-up that has further stoked US public disenchantment over the war. The number of extra troops being sent has climbed to around 30,000 with the addition of support troops.
FRUSTRATION:
Frustration over the Iraq war cost Bush's Republicans control of Congress in elections last November and is the main reason his public approval ratings are stuck near 30 percent, the lowest of his presidency.
Bush has repeatedly warned Americans that premature withdrawal from Iraq would endanger the United States by giving al Qaeda a safe haven for launching attacks on US interests and allies.
But his critics contend that the Iraq war has distracted US attention and resources from the war in Afghanistan, which they regard as a more important fight against Islamic militants.
The Iraq war has killed more than 3,200 US military personnel and tens of thousands of Iraqis. Bombers struck in the city of Kirkuk, to the north, on Monday, with two car bombs and four roadside bombs killing at least 12 people and wounding 39, police Brigadier Sarhat Qader said. Earlier police sources had put the toll at 18.
The city is a volatile mix of Shias, Sunni Arabs, ethnic Kurds and Turkmen, and has seen growing sectarian violence. A bomb in a bag near a Shia mosque in central Baghdad killed four people and wounded 25 on Monday, police said.
Mirroring US public doubts about the war, a new poll showed that four in five Iraqis have little or no confidence in US-led forces and most think their presence is making security worse. Despite that, only about a third want them to leave now.
The poll of more than 2,000 people, commissioned by the BBC, ABC News, ARD and USA Today, indicated Iraqis have become less optimistic about the future compared to a similar survey in 2005 when respondents were generally hopeful, the BBC said. Overall, 18 percent of Iraqis expressed confidence in US forces and 69 percent said their presence made security worse.
US and Iraqi forces launched a major crackdown in Baghdad in mid-February that commanders say has already halved civilian deaths, largely through a reduction in the number of victims of death squad killings blamed on militias.
US generals say it will probably be summer before the impact of the extra troops can be fully assessed, and have warned the troop increase could have a "squirting effect" where al Qaeda and insurgents would operate elsewhere, Gates said.