U.S. President George W. Bush speaks about the economy at the White House in Washington December 5, 2008. U.S. employers axed payrolls by 533,000 jobs in November, the most in 34 years and far more than expected, government data on Friday showed, as the year-old recession hammered every corner of the U.S. economy. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque (UNITED STATES)From Yahoo News/AP:
WASHINGTON – President Bush said Friday that the fight in Iraq has been longer and more costly than expected, but he defended the U.S.-led invasion, saying the world could not have risked leaving Saddam Hussein's power unchecked.
In a speech he was delivering later on Friday, Bush defended his Middle East policies, claimed some progress and outlined his view of what President-elect Barack Obama will inherit there. Bush said state-sponsored terrorism continues to destabilize the region, people still live under oppression, political and economic reforms are advancing "in fits and starts," and Iran's uranium enrichment remains a threat to peace.
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My Comment: I predicted that the Iraq occupation and war was going to go on for ever. Fortunately ..... I was wrong.
But the Iraq war is coming to a close .... no thanks to Al Qaeda, Bathist dead-enders, Shiite death squads, Iranian interference, and the original opposition back in the U.S.