Bush Rhetoric Hard to Square With Facts

In this video frame grab taken from television, President Bush addresses the nation from the White House library in Washington, Wednesday Jan. 10, 2007. (AP Photo/APTN) (AP)

The president promised stepped-up local reconstruction efforts. He ignored the facts on the ground that were cited in the October report of the special inspector general for Iraq.

The pledge Wednesday included doubling the number of State Department-led teams who help coordinate local reconstruction projects, and more money for quick-response teams to do local reconstruction and rebuilding projects.

The inspector general's report said continued violence and the lack of security seriously impeded reconstruction. Workers have been prevented from traveling to project sites and the lives of contractors at rebuilding sites are in danger.

The report quoted Iraq's minister of electricity as saying: "Every day I send repair teams, but they can't get to the area; there are too many insurgents. ... No one can help."

The U.S. commitment

The president stated the U.S. commitment in somewhat different terms than he had previously.

Bush said in his speech that he made it clear to Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and other Iraqi leaders "that America's commitment is not open-ended."

"If the Iraqi government does not follow through on its promises, it will lose the support of the American people _ and it will lose the support of the Iraqi people" he said Wednesday.

In the past he said, "We will stay until the job is done."

Description of the situation

Bush said on Wednesday, "The situation in Iraq is unacceptable to the American people _ and it is unacceptable to me."

This was in marked contrast to past statements by the president and his commanders that the U.S. was "on the brink of success," insurgents had been "brought to their knees," and "we have broken the back of the insurgency."

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Associated Press Writer Calvin Woodward contributed to this report.