Denying he has painted too rosy a picture about Iraq, President Bush said Thursday he would consider sending more troops if asked, but Iraq’s interim leader firmly said they weren’t needed. With violence spreading, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld suggested parts of Iraq might have to be excluded from elections in January. Bush and Prime Minister Ayad Allawi, standing in the Rose Garden under a bright sun, agreed that Iraq is making steady progress despite bombings, beheadings and violence that has claimed the lives of more than 1,000 Americans. “On television sets around the world we see acts of violence yet in most of Iraq, children are about to go back to school, parents are going back to work and new businesses are being opened,” Bush said. Allawi said 14 or 15 of Iraq’s 18 provinces “are completely safe.” Full Story
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