Killing goes on in Iraq as Bush defends war

Pakistani leftists display anti-war placards during a demonstration in Rawalpindi yesterday. The demonstration was organised to mark the second anniversary of the US invasion of Iraq. PHOTO: AFP

President George W. Bush yesterday defended his decision to order the invasion of Iraq two years ago, hailing the campaign as a landmark event in the history of freedom.

Though the invasion that started on March 20, 2003, remains controversial, Bush insisted in his weekly radio address that the war had made America safer and was inspiring change across the Middle East.

"Today we are seeing hopeful signs across the broader Middle East. The victory of freedom in Iraq is strengthening a new ally in the war on terror, and inspiring democratic reformers from Beirut to Tehran.

Bush said he ordered Operation Iraqi Freedom "to disarm a brutal regime, free its people, and defend the world from a grave danger."

"Because we acted, Iraq's government is no longer a threat to the world or its own people. Today the Iraqi people are taking charge of their own destiny," Bush said, highlighting the country's landmark January 30 elections and this week's first meeting of the transitional national assembly.

"Today, Iraqis can take pride in building a government that answers to its people and honours their country's unique heritage."

Bush paid tribute to the 1,500-plus American soldiers who have been killed in Iraq and also sought to reassure the public that he was taking measures to start the withdrawal of the 130,000 US troops still in Iraq.

The policemen were killed and seven others wounded when a bomb exploded in the tense northern oil centre of Kirkuk as the funeral cortege of a comrade killed the previous day passed by, police chief General Turhan Yussef said.

The policeman killed on Friday died when a patrol went to investigate a bag that two masked men had left in the street near the police academy, and a bomb inside exploded, Lieutenant Colonel Khattab Arif told AFP.

In other violence, an Iraqi soldier and two civilians, one an interpreter working for coalition forces, were killed in the north of the country, and the body of a man shot in the head execution-style was found.

Meanwhile, thousands of people gathered at Speaker's Corner in London's Hyde Park yesterday brandishing posters denouncing the "war on terror", marking the second anniversary of the US-led invasion of Iraq.

Pictures of US President George W. Bush under the title "World's Number One Terrorist" and banners saying "No War in Iran" mingled with others warning British Prime Minister Tony Blair that people would not vote for him in an expected general election in May due to his support for the invasion.