By Dana Milbank
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, April 11, 2004; Page A19

CRAWFORD, Tex., April 10 -- President Bush said the United States would not waver from a June 30 transfer of power in Iraq, rebuffing Democratic concerns that the hasty transition could set off a civil war and more violence against U.S. forces.

"Some have suggested that we should respond to the recent attacks by delaying Iraqi sovereignty. This is precisely what our enemies want," Bush said in a radio address broadcast Saturday. "They want America and our coalition to falter in our commitments before a watching world. In these ambitions, the enemies of freedom will fail. Iraqi sovereignty will arrive on June 30th."

In the Democratic response to Bush, Sen. Carl M. Levin (Mich.) warned that a hurried handover could provoke "even greater violence against our forces, including the possibility of civil war." He said Bush should work with the United Nations as a "full partner" in determining the timing of the transfer.

Bush's radio address, the first comments the president has had on the uprising in Iraq in four days, projected an optimistic outlook for U.S. forces as they put down the insurgency there. He characterized the resistance as "a small faction" that is "attempting to derail Iraqi democracy and seize power." Bush said that in Fallujah, site of a Sunni rebellion, U.S. Marines "are taking control of the city, block by block." And he said troops have "taken the initiative" from forces loyal to Shiite cleric Moqtada Sadr.

While saying the U.S. military action will continue for weeks, there is no doubt that "we will win this test of wills," Bush said.

Bush's upbeat portrayal of events in Iraq came at the end of a week in which more than 50 U.S. and coalition troops died in combat, in addition to hundreds of Iraqis. Bush's political opponents, including Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.), have harshly criticized his actions, saying Iraq is becoming the sort of "quagmire" Vietnam was.

The White House and many independent experts say this comparison is flawed, but Republicans are sensitive to the accusation. On Thursday, the Senate Republican Policy Committee issued a 16-point paper titled "Clearing Up the 'Quagmire' in Iraq: Why Kennedy's Vietnam Is NOT Bush's Iraq." The paper argues that in Iraq there are fewer U.S. forces, more rapid authorization to use force, no draftees, fewer deaths, more allies, and a more rapid conquest of the country and beginning of reconstruction efforts than occurred in the Vietnam War.

"How many [United Nations Security Council] resolutions did Ho Chi Minh violate? None," the paper says. "How many UNSC resolution[s] did Saddam Hussein violate? 17." It also notes: "Against how many Vietnamese, Cambodians, and Lao did Ho Chi Minh use chemical and biological weapons? None. Against how many Iraqis, Iranians, and Kurds did Saddam Hussein use chemical and biological weapons? Thousands."

The campaign of Bush's Democratic challenger, Sen. John F. Kerry (Mass.), branded as "disturbing" the Senate GOP talking points. "It makes it look like George W. Bush's Republican Party is more interested in winning the spin war than winning the Iraq war," spokesman Chad Clanton said. "They owe it to our troops to start focusing less on public relations and more on finding a solution to the troubling situation in Iraq."

In a Newsweek poll released Saturday, 40 percent of respondents were "very concerned" that Iraq might become another Vietnam. While 57 percent said the war in Iraq was the right thing to do, 51 percent disapproved of Bush's handling of the situation.

Bush, in his radio address, said Americans are praying for the troops in Iraq. "As the June 30th transition approaches, we will continue to see a test of wills between the enemies of freedom and its defenders. We will win this test of wills and overcome every challenge, because the cause of freedom and security is worth our struggle."

The president, who has been vacationing on his ranch here, is scheduled on Sunday to participate in Easter services at nearby Fort Hood, which has lost several soldiers in Iraq.

Bush canceled a fishing outing on his ranch Saturday with Roland Martin, host of the Outdoor Life Network program "Fishing With Roland Martin." Martin, who fished with Bush on Friday, told the Associated Press that Bush explained: "I've been busy, all these crises."