Bush plays down benchmark woes, cites military gains

RENO, Nev. - President Bush played down Iraq's failure to meet political benchmarks set by Congress, telling the American Legion yesterday that it made no sense to ignore real military progress despite the Iraqi government's failure to approve all the laws it had promised.

While acknowledging that Iraq had more work to do to meet the legislative benchmarks, Bush said goals were effectively being reached without legislation. He asserted, for instance, that the Iraqi government was sharing oil revenues throughout the nation's provinces, though a formal national oil law had not been passed.

At the same time, the president said, a new U.S. military strategy - implemented with additional U.S. forces - was showing results. He said that U.S. forces were dislodging Sunni extremists from Baghdad and other strongholds and that sectarian violence had declined in the Iraqi capital.

"The momentum is now on our side," Bush said. "The surge is seizing the initiative from the enemy - and handing it to the Iraqi people."

Alluding to complaints about the failure of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's government to meet the benchmarks, Bush accused his critics of moving the goalposts. He said they were disregarding political advances at the local level and minimizing the ultimate impact of improved security in fostering national reconciliation.

"Their argument used to be that security was bad," the president said. "Now their argument seems to be security is better - so the surge has failed."

The crowd chuckled.

Bush portrayed the region as perched between what he described as the Sunni extremism of al-Qaeda and the Shiite extremism of the Iranian government. He had especially belligerent language for Iran, accusing Tehran of funding terrorists around the world while pursuing technology that could put the Middle East under "the shadow of a nuclear holocaust."

"Iran's actions threaten the security of nations everywhere," Bush said, "and that is why the United States is rallying friends and allies around the world to isolate the regime, to impose economic sanctions. We will confront this danger before it is too late.

"I want our fellow citizens to consider what would happen if these forces of radicalism and extremism are allowed to drive us out of the Middle East," he said. "The region would be dramatically transformed in a way that could imperil the civilized world."

Bush's address was part of an effort to lay the groundwork for keeping in place many of the 30,000 additional troops he ordered to Iraq in January to restore security in Baghdad and Anbar province.

Many national-security experts believe Bush is overemphasizing the signs of progress. Even Democrats, however, believe he might have in his grasp the possibility of extending the troop buildup, at least until April.

Watch video of President Bush's Iraq address via http://go.philly.com/bushEndText