Reply #30: Bush Insists Iraq Coalition Not Crumbling (Reuters) [View All]

(He's rapidly loosing touch with reality)

Wed Mar 16, 2005 11:44 PM ET

By Steve Holland

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Bush insisted on Wednesday the U.S.-led coalition in Iraq was not crumbling and he shrugged off Italy's decision to begin pulling troops from Iraq by September.

"Quite to the contrary," Bush said when asked if the coalition was falling apart. "I think the coalition has been buoyed by the courage of the Iraqi people."

Nearly two years after the Iraq war began, Bush hailed the first meeting of Iraq's national assembly as a "bright moment" and said Iraq's elections, a potential Syrian pullout from Lebanon, and Israel and the Palestinians talking peace could produce change elsewhere in the Middle East.

"I believe those examples will serve as examples for others over time," he told a White House news conference. "And that will lead to more peace, and that's what we want."

(more at link)

<http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=politicsNews&storyID=7927199&src=rss/politicsNews>