Monday, December 19 2005 10:37 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Washington: US President George W Bush has warned that despite the political progress in Iraq more violence lies ahead in the country but urged the divided American people not to give into 'defeatism'.

"Defeatism may have its partisan uses, but it is not justified by the facts. For every scene of destruction in Iraq, there are more scenes of rebuilding and hope. For every life lost, there are countless more lives reclaimed. My fellow citizens: not only can we win the war in Iraq we are winning the war in Iraq", Bush said in a nationally televised prime-time address from his Oval office yesterday (Dec 18, 2005)night.

Making a direct and personal appeal to Americans not to give up hope or give in to despair as far as the goings on in Iraq is concerned, he said "There are only two options before our country victory or defeat, I do not expect you to support everything I do, but tonight I have a request: do not give in to despair, and do not give up on this fight for freedom".

The address capped an extraordinary media campaign in recent weeks by the White House to recover the political ground lost since US forces invaded Iraq 33 months ago. Over the past month, Bush has released a new plan for victory, hosted private White House briefings for skeptical members of Congress and delivered four other speeches laying out a more detailed explanation of his war strategy.

Acknowledging that the work in Iraq has been especially difficult or 'more difficult than we expected', the President took on his critics who have called for an immediate withdrawal from that country pointing out what the consequences of any hasty pullout might mean.

"It is also important for every American to understand the consequences of pulling out of Iraq before our work is done," he said.

We would abandon our Iraqi friends and signal to the world that America cannot be trusted to keep its word", he said stressing that aside from becoming the laughing stock of the tyrants in the Middle East the global terrorist movement 'would be emboldened and more dangerous' than ever before.

"To retreat before victory would be an act of recklessness and dishonor and I will not allow it", Bush emphasized.

The President also said that scaling down in Iraq is directly related to the kind of progress made on the ground and on different fronts.

"I will make decisions on troop levels based on the progress we see on the ground and the advice of our military leaders not based on artificial timetables set by politicians in Washington. Our forces in Iraq are on the road to victory and that is the road that will take them home", he said.

Bush also took the occasion to make the point that he knew there were doubts about his strategy in Iraq.

"Some look at the challenges in Iraq and conclude that the war is lost and not worth another dime or another day," the President remarked.

"I don't believe that. Our military commanders do not believe that. Our troops in the field who bear the burden and make the sacrifice do not believe that America has lost, "he said.