Defiant, Bush defends war as demonstrators protest

Polls show that the majority of people think the invasion was a mistake.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Almost 4,000 U.S. troops killed. Nearly 30,000 wounded. Half a trillion dollars spent, and counting.

As the Iraq war entered its sixth year Wednesday, President Bush called the toll “a high cost in lives and treasure.” Then he called it something else: necessary.

Marking the anniversary of the conflict that has dominated his presidency, Bush defended the war with no doubts. He conceded that it has been harder, longer and more expensive than anticipated but insisted it has all been needed to keep Americans safe.

Protesters demonstrated near the White House and in other cities, though they seemed to lack the fervor of marches and other actions that preceded the war.

Bush, in a speech at the Pentagon, offered some of his boldest assessments of progress and said the war’s legacy is absolute: “The world is better, and the United States of America is safer.”

A war-weary country isn’t nearly so convinced.

The majority of people think the invasion was a mistake, polls show. However, Americans are more split about how the war is going and when U.S. troops should be pulled home, as reduced violence in Iraq has begun to influence the public view.

“Five years into this battle, there is an understandable debate over whether the war was worth fighting, whether the fight is worth winning, and whether we can win it,” Bush said. “The answers are clear to me: removing Saddam Hussein from power was the right decision, and this is a fight America can and must win.”

The U.S. has about 158,000 troops in Iraq, and that number is expected to drop to 140,000 by summer. But Bush signaled anew that he will not pull more troops home as long as his commanders worry that doing so will imperil recently improved conditions in Iraq.

“Having come so far, and achieved so much, we’re not going to let this happen,” Bush said.

Demonstrators converged in the nation’s capital, other big cities such as Miami and San Francisco, and in smaller towns in Vermont and Ohio to urge an end to the war. Police arrested more than 30 people who blocked the Internal Revenue Service building in Washington, and protesters blocked downtown intersections several times.

However, the demonstrators numbered in the hundreds rather than the thousands organizers had hoped for.

Even as his time and power wane, Bush made clear he will prosecute the war as he deems fit till the end of his presidency.

In the campaign to replace him, Democratic Sens. Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton pledged to end the war, but squabbled Wednesday over who could do it best.

Democrats in Congress assailed Bush for failed, tired leadership and questioned why he did not push Iraq’s leaders to live up to promises.