July 05, 2007	Thursday	Jamadi-us-Sani 19, 1428

WASHINGTON, July 4: In an independence day message to his nation, President George W. Bush conceded on Wednesday that a victory in Iraq would require more courage and sacrifice but said that he would not withdraw his troops yet.

Mr Bush told a gathering of US soldiers that American troops in Iraq and Afghanistan were engaged in a “vital and just” mission and they would stay there until they achieve their objectives. “We long for the day when there are far fewer” troops in Iraq,” Mr Bush told about 1,000 people gathered in an aircraft hangar. “Yet withdrawing our troops prematurely, based on politics,” instead of advice from commanders on the ground, “would not be in our national interest.”

Many soldiers from the 167th Airlift Wing of the Air National Guard Mr Bush addressed have participated in the war in Iraq and Afghanistan, Mr Bush said Al Qaeda seeks to destabilise the government and establish a “safe haven” in Iraq as it did in Afghanistan. “We must win it; we must succeed for our own sake. We must defeat Al Qaeda in Iraq,” he said. “Victory in this struggle will require more patience, more courage and more sacrifice.”

On Tuesday, Mr Bush spoke with Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, urging him to focus on combating Al Qaeda, securing Iraq’s borders, building political support and improving Iraqi security forces. Despite Mr Bush’s vow to keep his troops in Iraq, political pressure is building on him to begin the withdrawal.