WASHINGTON, 14 September 2003 — President Bush stressed yesterday that the United States has a clear mission in Iraq to fight terrorists and foster democracy there, yet a new poll shows that fewer than half of Americans share his belief.
A CNN-USA Today-Gallup poll released Friday found that nearly six in 10 Americans, or 59 percent, said they did not think the administration has a clear plan for handling the situation in Iraq. The poll of 1,025 adults — taken Monday through Thursday after Bush’s nationally televised address on Iraq last Sunday — had a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.
“We are following a clear strategy with three objectives: destroy the terrorists, enlist international support for a free Iraq and quickly transfer authority to the Iraqi people,” Bush said yesterday in his weekly radio address.
Since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, Congress has enacted legislation to better secure airports and seaports, fortify US borders and provide intelligence and law enforcement agencies new tools to track terrorists.
Bush’s radio address, a progress report on the war in Iraq, mirrored speeches he made earlier in the week that also were designed to counter rising skepticism about US involvement in Iraq.
Bush said US-led coalition forces continue to take action against loyalists of Saddam Hussein and foreign terrorists, and the United States is moving forward on a specific plan to return sovereignty and authority to Iraqi citizens. A governing council comprising Iraqi citizens has selected a committee that will help draft a new constitution.
“When a constitution has been drafted and ratified by the Iraqi people, Iraq will enjoy free and fair elections,” he said, “and the coalition will yield its remaining authority to a free and sovereign Iraqi government.” He said the United States is continuing to urge international cooperation in rebuilding Iraq.
Secretary of State Colin Powell was meeting yesterday in Geneva with the secretary general of the United Nations and representatives of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council to discuss ideas for a new UN resolution to encourage wider participation in the reconstruction effort.
The State Department announced in Geneva that after the meetings Powell would make his first visit to Iraq.
“Today, with our help, the people of Iraq are working to create a free, functioning and prosperous society,” Bush said. “The terrorists know that if these efforts are successful, their ideology of hate will suffer a grave defeat. So they are attacking our forces, international aid workers, and innocent civilians.”
