Bush defends Iraq war policies

WASHINGTON, July 12 (UPI) -- President Bush told the United States Thursday "the enemy (in Iraq) needs to know America won't back down."

Pointing to the interim report released by the White House showing Iraq has made satisfactory progress in security benchmarks set by Bush in January but lags as far as progress goes politically, Bush told the Washington press corps the report shows a natural progression.

"Progress on security will pave the way for political progress," he said.

Bush also chastised journalists for focusing on only one side of the issue -- whether or not to bring U.S. troops home.

"The real debate over Iraq is between those who think the fight is lost, or not worth the cost, and those who believe the fight can be won, and as difficult as the fight is, the cost of defeat would be far higher," he said.

Bush reiterated his belief that fighting al-Qaida in Iraq is the only answer.

"We need to face them there so we don't have to face them here," he said, adding we have to convince "the enemy (in Iraq) needs to know America won't back down."

"Al-Qaida wants to hurt us here, that is their objective," Bush said. "The same people bombing innocent people in Iraq are the same people who bombed us here on Sept. 11."