Reply #2: Bush says 'Hope' is returning to Bagdhad

[minnesota_liberal]

Source: MSNBC News Service

CAMP ARIFJAN, Kuwait - President Bush said on Saturday that America's change of strategy in Iraq had sharply reduced violence and the United States was on track to complete the withdrawal of 20,000 troops by mid-year.

After talks at a base in the Kuwaiti desert with his military commander in Iraq, General David Petraeus, and the U.S. ambassador in Baghdad, Ryan Crocker, Bush said security gains in Iraq "are allowing some U.S. forces to return home."

"Any additional reductions will be based on the recommendations of General Petraeus," he said. "Conditions on the ground will be those that guide his recommendations. I need to know his considered judgment to make sure that the security gains ... remain in place."

Bush said the new strategy, which involved a "surge" in troop numbers and a focus on counter-insurgency warfare, had dealt "heavy blows" to the al Qaeda network in Iraq. "Iraq is now a different place," he said. "Levels of violence are significantly reduced. Hope is returning to Baghdad."


Read more: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22620189/

---

After over a trillion dollars spent and almost 5 years of war/occupation, one would expect more than restored hope.

Is it possible that Dubyah isn't aware that Bob Hope died in 2003 and was thinking that the entertainer might entertain troops in Baghdad?