Progress in Iraq is 'undeniable,' Bush tells troops

fort bragg, n.c. -- Using a military ceremony to promote the war in Iraq, President Bush said today that progress there was "undeniable" and that the United States was "on our way to victory."

The president could not have chosen a friendlier audience for a message that he has been trying for months to plant with the majority of the American public, which polls show stopped supporting the war long ago.

Bush addressed thousands of troops of the storied 82nd Airborne Division, some of whom returned from Iraq barely two weeks ago and others who are preparing for a fourth deployment this fall.

To fatigue-clad soldiers lined up in formation across a parade ground the size of a football field or more, Bush presented a point-by-point definition of the success he says is coming in Iraq, and on which he says the end of the war depends:

"Success will be when Al Qaeda has no safe havens in Iraq and Iraqis can protect themselves. Success will be when Iraq is a nation that can support itself economically. Success will be when Iraq is a democracy that governs itself effectively and responds to the will of its people. Success will be when Iraq is a strong and capable ally in the war on terror.

"When our country succeeds in Iraq," the president continued, "generations of Americans will be more secure."

He spoke on a sunny morning at the annual Division Review Ceremony, which was not held last year "due to deployment operations," the White House said. The nearly two-hour ceremony included a parade of thousands of troops that lasted more than 20 minutes, while the president and Maj. Gen. David Rodriguez, the division's commanding general, stood on the edge of the parade ground.

The program began with four paratroopers jumping from low-flying helicopters and ended with a helicopter formation fly-over.

Later, Bush toured a barracks to show support for efforts to improve housing on the post, and attended a memorial service for division soldiers who have lost their lives in battle since the unit was formed in 1917.

On the Pike Field parade grounds, Bush told the soldiers the success in Iraq that he outlined "will not come easily" and that "tough fighting" remained.

"But the progress is undeniable," he said.

"You've achieved difficult objectives in a new kind of war. You've performed with skill and valor. And on behalf of a grateful nation: Welcome home," the president said to a division that, he noted had deployed on more missions since Sept. 11, 2001, than any other in the Army.

Bush said that since he increased the troop level from 138,000 to approximately 160,000 last year, Iraq's economy had taken "tremendous strides," with inflation dropping, the economy growing, and investments in energy and communications increasing.

He said that violence had dropped across Iraq, with civilian deaths and sectarian killings falling, along with attacks on American troops.

"You have returned home on success," Bush said, adding that Gen. David H. Petraeus, the senior U.S. commander in Iraq, has determined that conditions were sufficiently secure "to return by the end of July to the pre-surge level of 15 combat brigade teams."

james.gerstenzang@latimes.com