President George W. Bush on why he is not going to withdraw troops from Iraq: “I don’t think the Vice President’s service is relevant in this debate. And I would hope all of us in this debate talk about the policy and have an honest, open debate about whether or not it makes sense to immediately withdraw our troops. My position is very clear: It does not make sense. It will make America less secure. Iraq is a battlefront in the war on terror, and it’s vital that we succeed in this particular battle in the war on terror. And our strategy is proceeding. There’s a political strategy, and as I said the other day, I said a couple of times, the progress in Iraq is amazing when you think — the political progress. I mean, they’ve gone from tyranny to the election of a transitional national government, to the ratification of a constitution. And they’re about to have elections again. And all this took place in two-and-a-half years. When you compare it to our own history, our road was quite bumpy getting to a constitution. And so the progress is strong.”
– Transcript, “President’s Remarks to the Travel Pool in China,” George W. Bush – White House Archives online, Accessed on 9/2/2016