In a White House news conference on October 25, 2006, “Terence Hunt of the Associated Press noted that the Iraq War had now lasted almost as long as the American involvement in World War II. ‘Do you think we’re winning,’ Hunt asked, ‘and why?’ [President] Bush dodged, saying he was ‘confident we will succeed’ and warning that ‘defeat will only come’ if America backs off. Hunt pressed for an answer. ‘Are we winning?’ he repeated. ‘This time, Bush offered no equivocation. ‘Absolutely, we’re winning,’ he said.”
– Peter Baker, Days of Fire, Page 496