US: Faced with an erosion of public support for the war in Iraq, US president George Bush travelled to an army base in North Carolina last night to reassure the nation that securing democracy in Iraq would make the world a safer place.
His prime-time broadcast from Fort Bragg, home of the US army's elite 82nd Airborne Division, came at a critical moment in the war and a testing time for his presidency.
"Amid all this violence, I know Americans ask the question: Is the sacrifice worth it? It is worth it, and it is vital to the future security of our country . . . We have more work to do, and there will be tough moments that test America's resolve," Mr Bush was to say.
US soldiers are being killed almost daily in Iraq, and the death of two more yesterday and the crash yesterday of a Chinook helicopter in Afghanistan, with possibly 16 troops on board, served to underline the grim situation.
Mr Bush's speech also came at a time when the US strategy is undergoing a subtle change in Iraq, with a new emphasis on resolving the conflict through the Iraqi political process, and defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld confirming that talks have taken place with some insurgent leaders. However, the assassinated of a prominent member of the Iraqi parliament yesterday will also worry Americans that a solution to the country's problems is far away.
New opinion polls yesterday showed that for the first time a majority of Americans - 53 to 46 per cent - believe it was a mistake to go to war and six in 10 think the US is "bogged down" in Iraq. Mr Bush also has a growing credibility problem, according to a Washington Post-ABC News poll that found most Americans do not believe the administration's claims that impressive gains are being made against the insurgency.
A USA Today/CNN/Gallup Poll showed that only one in three Americans now believes the US and its allies are winning the war, down 9 per cent since the start of the year, and six in 10 said Mr Bush had no clear plan to extract US troops.
However, the Washington Post poll showed a clear majority are still willing to keep US forces in Iraq for an extended time to stabilise the country, and a narrow majority - 52 per cent - believes the war has contributed to the long-term security of the US.
This shows there is still an acceptance of Mr Bush's argument that the enemy will not be allowed to succeed in its goal "to drive us out of Iraq before the Iraqis have established a secure, democratic government".
By securing Iraqi democracy, "we'll make America and our friends and allies around the world safer", Mr Bush said in response to the violence last week. "Our troops will continue to train Iraqi security forces so these forces can defend their country and to protect their people from terror. And as Iraqis become more capable in defending their nation, our troops will eventually return home with the honour they have earned."
Mr Bush's move to reinvigorate public support for a war coincides with the first anniversary of the transfer of sovereignty to an Iraqi government.
Since then, Iraqis have held elections and begun the process of drawing up a constitution by August, but 139,000 US troops remain in the country and the number of Americans killed in the insurgency has reached almost 1,750. Congressional leaders met Mr Bush in the White House yesterday and afterwards Democratic House leader Nancy Pelosi said the president ought to be talking about benchmarks for progress. She stopped short, however, of calling for a timetable to withdraw, something which Mr Bush insists would only invigorate the insurgency.
Mr Bush's 2004 Democratic presidential opponent, Senator John Kerry, urged the president to "tell the truth to the American people" and announce that the US would not have a permanent military presence in Iraq.
"Erasing suspicions that the occupation is indefinite is critical to eroding support for the insurgency," but "happy talk" about the insurgency being in its "last throes" would lead to frustrated expectations.
Last week vice-president Dick Cheney's claimed the insurgency was in its "last throes". The Washington Post survey found that only 22 per cent of Americans believe the insurgency is getting weaker, while 24 per cent believe it is strengthening. Some 53 per cent said resistance to US and Iraqi government forces had not changed.
The US commander in Iraq, Gen John Abizaid, contradicted Mr Cheney's assessment, testifying to Congress last week that the insurgency was just as strong as six months ago. During the hearings Republican Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina warned that "in the most patriotic state I can imagine" support for the war was "going south".
The liberal group Moveon.Org planned to run TV advertisements after Mr Bush's speech showing Republican Senator Chuck Hagel saying America is losing the war. Outside Fort Bragg opponents of the war gathered for a protest last night.
"There's a groundswell against this war," said Bill Dobbs, the spokesman for United For Peace and Justice, an anti-war coalition of more than 1,300 local and national groups.