Home pagePress CenterIn the Media Jon Alterman, director of the CSIS Middle East Program, was quoted by the Associated Press, "Bush Defiantly Defends War in Iraq."
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Jon Alterman, director of the CSIS Middle East Program, was quoted by the Associated Press, "Bush Defiantly Defends War in Iraq."
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Bush defiantly defended the Iraq war Wednesday as U.S. troops began a sixth year of combat in the long and costly conflict that has dominated his presidency. Bush conceded the war has been harder and more expensive than anticipated but insisted it has all been necessary to keep Americans safe.
"This isn't the war we signed up for," said Jon Alterman, head of the Middle East program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington. Back in 2003, he said, Americans expected a quick, decisive defeat of Saddam and no lingering presence.
"What we are seeing is a much more difficult, muddled, nuanced presence at a much higher cost and for a longer time than anyone bargained for," he said.
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