Bush: critics back 'cut and run' strategy

[leftchick]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/bush

<snip>

"Leaving before we complete our mission would create a terrorist state in the heart of the Middle East, a country with huge oil reserves that the terrorist network would be willing to use to extract economic pain from those of us who believe in freedom," Bush said Wednesday.

"If we leave before the mission is complete, if we withdraw, the enemy will follow us home," he said.

Even though he spoke at a political event, Bush kept the criticism of his opponents gentle, and left partisan politics out of it. His critics are mostly Democrats who contend he has not outlined a plan for success in Iraq. They are increasingly supportive of a timetable for bringing troops home.

"There are some good people in our country who believe we should cut and run," the president said at a fundraiser for former Pittsburgh Steelers star Lynn Swann, who is carrying GOP hopes for an upset over Pennsylvania's Democratic governor, Ed Rendell. "They're not bad people when they say that. They're decent people. I just happen to believe they're wrong."

At the fundraiser, Bush raised an estimated $650,000 in much-needed cash for Swann, who trails Rendell in fundraising and the polls.