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Published: March 19, 2008 at 12:00 PM
Bush: Iraq a war U.S. 'can and must win'
WASHINGTON, March 19 (UPI) -- U.S. President George Bush marked the five-year anniversary of the invasion of Iraq Wednesday by calling it a fight the United States "can and must win."
"Removing Saddam Hussein from power was the right decision -- and this is a fight America can and must win," Bush said in remarks prepared for delivery at the Pentagon.
The president reviewed triumphs and tragedies in Iraq -- from 12 million Iraqis voting in free elections to the beheading of captives. He also admitted the war was more costly than originally thought, but chided critics for their wide-ranging cost estimates.
When last year's upswing in violence led to a surge in troops, Bush said his administration "knew that if we did not act, the violence that had been consuming Iraq would have worsened, spread, and could eventually have reached genocidal levels."
The challenge ahead, he said, "is to consolidate the gains we have made and seal the extremists' defeat."
"The battle in Iraq is noble, it is necessary, it is just," Bush said, and "it will end in victory."
Iraqis arrest suspected al-Qaida member
BAQUBA, Iraq, March 19 (UPI) -- Iraqi security forces Wednesday in Diyala province arrested an alleged member of al-Qaida who confessed to killing 20 people.
Iraqi officials said in a statement police in Diyala arrested Ahmad Mohammad Taha in the provincial capital, Baquba, the Kuwaiti news agency said.
The statement indicated Taha confessed to the killings as well as several kidnappings.
Police freed three hostages in areas around Baquba following the arrest.
Clinton's first lady schedules released
LITTLE ROCK, Ark., March 19 (UPI) -- Former U.S. President Bill Clinton's library in Arkansas said it would release more than 11,000 pages of his wife's daily schedule from her years as first lady.
The William J. Clinton Presidential Library in Little Rock, Ark., released the records in response to a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit filed by the watchdog group Judicial Watch, which spent most of the eight-year Clinton tenure as president examining a variety of scandals.
The documents may give insight into the role U.S. Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., played in a variety of policy initiatives during her husband's presidential term, The Washington Post said.
"It is about time," said Tom Fitton, president of Judicial Watch. Fitton claimed that the Clintons "slow-pedaled" the release of the documents.
The released documents include schedules of speaking engagements and social activities while Clinton was first lady. The library said it couldn't locate several days of scheduling activity in the files of Patti Doyle, who served as Clinton's presidential campaign manager.
Judicial Watch has a pending lawsuit concerning archive records detailing Clinton's healthcare task force she led during President Bill Clinton's first term.
Democrats jump on McCain's miscue
AMMAN, Jordan, March 19 (UPI) -- A slip of tongue may prove costly to U.S. Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., traveling in the Middle East on a congressional fact-finding mission.
Democrats pounced on McCain's comment about U.S. concern that Iran, a Shiite country, has been "taking al-Qaida into Iran, training them and sending them back" to Iraq, The New York Times reported Wednesday. The United States believes that Iran has been training and financing Shiite extremists in Iraq -- but not al-Qaida, a Sunni insurgent group.
McCain made several references to Iran training al-Qaida operatives until he was corrected by Sen. Joe Lieberman, I-Conn., traveling with McCain as part of the delegation.
"I'm sorry, the Iranians are training extremists, not al-Qaida," said McCain who has based his campaign in large part on the claim that he is the best prepared to deal with Iraq, the Times said.
"(He) showed he either doesn't understand the challenges facing Iraq and the region or is willing to ignore the facts on the ground," Democratic National Committee spokeswoman Karen Finney said in a statement.
Brian Rogers, a McCain campaign spokesman, said when McCain misspoke in a news conference Tuesday in Amman, Jordan, he "immediately corrected himself."
Transformer fire leaves Vegas in dark
LAS VEGAS, March 19 (UPI) -- The southern end of the Las Vegas Strip went dark Tuesday night after an electrical transformer caught fire, knocking out power for several hours.
A number of hotels went dark after the fire but back-up generators restored lights in the casinos at the Four Seasons, the Luxor and Excalibur, KLAS-TV of Las Vegas reported.
While the generators provided power for the casino floors, hotel rooms and elevators were in the dark for more than an hour.
Fire crews were called in to free people trapped in elevators.
Power was restored to most of the hotels, with the exception of the main tower at Mandalay Bay, by 11 p.m., KTNV-TV reported.
Clark County Fire officials told KLAS-TV that a transformer near Harmon and Adurey caught fire just before 8 p.m. Crews from Nevada Power worked to determine what triggered the incident.
WASHINGTON, March 19 (UPI) -- U.S. President George Bush marked the five-year anniversary of the invasion of Iraq Wednesday by calling it a fight the United States "can and must win."
"Removing Saddam Hussein from power was the right decision -- and this is a fight America can and must win," Bush said in remarks prepared for delivery at the Pentagon.
The president reviewed triumphs and tragedies in Iraq -- from 12 million Iraqis voting in free elections to the beheading of captives. He also admitted the war was more costly than originally thought, but chided critics for their wide-ranging cost estimates.
When last year's upswing in violence led to a surge in troops, Bush said his administration "knew that if we did not act, the violence that had been consuming Iraq would have worsened, spread, and could eventually have reached genocidal levels."
The challenge ahead, he said, "is to consolidate the gains we have made and seal the extremists' defeat."
"The battle in Iraq is noble, it is necessary, it is just," Bush said, and "it will end in victory."
Iraqis arrest suspected al-Qaida member
BAQUBA, Iraq, March 19 (UPI) -- Iraqi security forces Wednesday in Diyala province arrested an alleged member of al-Qaida who confessed to killing 20 people.
Iraqi officials said in a statement police in Diyala arrested Ahmad Mohammad Taha in the provincial capital, Baquba, the Kuwaiti news agency said.
The statement indicated Taha confessed to the killings as well as several kidnappings.
Police freed three hostages in areas around Baquba following the arrest.
Clinton's first lady schedules released
LITTLE ROCK, Ark., March 19 (UPI) -- Former U.S. President Bill Clinton's library in Arkansas said it would release more than 11,000 pages of his wife's daily schedule from her years as first lady.
The William J. Clinton Presidential Library in Little Rock, Ark., released the records in response to a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit filed by the watchdog group Judicial Watch, which spent most of the eight-year Clinton tenure as president examining a variety of scandals.
The documents may give insight into the role U.S. Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., played in a variety of policy initiatives during her husband's presidential term, The Washington Post said.
"It is about time," said Tom Fitton, president of Judicial Watch. Fitton claimed that the Clintons "slow-pedaled" the release of the documents.
The released documents include schedules of speaking engagements and social activities while Clinton was first lady. The library said it couldn't locate several days of scheduling activity in the files of Patti Doyle, who served as Clinton's presidential campaign manager.
Judicial Watch has a pending lawsuit concerning archive records detailing Clinton's healthcare task force she led during President Bill Clinton's first term.
Democrats jump on McCain's miscue
AMMAN, Jordan, March 19 (UPI) -- A slip of tongue may prove costly to U.S. Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., traveling in the Middle East on a congressional fact-finding mission.
Democrats pounced on McCain's comment about U.S. concern that Iran, a Shiite country, has been "taking al-Qaida into Iran, training them and sending them back" to Iraq, The New York Times reported Wednesday. The United States believes that Iran has been training and financing Shiite extremists in Iraq -- but not al-Qaida, a Sunni insurgent group.
McCain made several references to Iran training al-Qaida operatives until he was corrected by Sen. Joe Lieberman, I-Conn., traveling with McCain as part of the delegation.
"I'm sorry, the Iranians are training extremists, not al-Qaida," said McCain who has based his campaign in large part on the claim that he is the best prepared to deal with Iraq, the Times said.
"(He) showed he either doesn't understand the challenges facing Iraq and the region or is willing to ignore the facts on the ground," Democratic National Committee spokeswoman Karen Finney said in a statement.
Brian Rogers, a McCain campaign spokesman, said when McCain misspoke in a news conference Tuesday in Amman, Jordan, he "immediately corrected himself."
Transformer fire leaves Vegas in dark
LAS VEGAS, March 19 (UPI) -- The southern end of the Las Vegas Strip went dark Tuesday night after an electrical transformer caught fire, knocking out power for several hours.
A number of hotels went dark after the fire but back-up generators restored lights in the casinos at the Four Seasons, the Luxor and Excalibur, KLAS-TV of Las Vegas reported.
While the generators provided power for the casino floors, hotel rooms and elevators were in the dark for more than an hour.
Fire crews were called in to free people trapped in elevators.
Power was restored to most of the hotels, with the exception of the main tower at Mandalay Bay, by 11 p.m., KTNV-TV reported.
Clark County Fire officials told KLAS-TV that a transformer near Harmon and Adurey caught fire just before 8 p.m. Crews from Nevada Power worked to determine what triggered the incident.
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This material may not be reproduced, redistributed, or manipulated in any form.
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