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US in long struggle against radicals: Bush

* Says ‘enemy’ can’t run US out of Middle East

WASHINGTON: President Bush told a news conference on Wednesday that he was considering an expansion of the US army and Marines in Iraq for “the long struggle against radicals and extremists”.

He also said that Iraq must “stand up, step up and lead” for victory to be achieved. He declared that the US military “stays in the fight for a long period of time,” adding, “I’m not predicting any particular threat, but I am predicting that it’s going to take a while for the ideology of liberty to finally triumph over the ideology of hate.”

Having told the Washington Post in an interview published on Wednesday that America was not winning in Iraq, he reverted to his more familiar “victory” mode by stating, “I believe that we’re going to win. I believe that. And by the way, if I didn’t think that, I wouldn’t have our troops there.” He said the Iraqis would need to stand up and lead as it was “their responsibility to govern their country. It’s their responsibility to do the hard work necessary to secure Baghdad. And we want to help them.”

While conceding that insurgent and sectarian violence in Iraq had made the task difficult, President Bush stressed that the US would not be pushed out of the region.

“I want the enemy to understand that this is a tough task, but they can’t run us out of the Middle East,” Bush said.

Then he said, “I also don’t believe most Americans want us just to get out now. A lot of Americans understand the consequences of retreat. Retreat would embolden radicals. It would hurt the credibility of the United States.”

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