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Length: 3:01
ANDERSON COOPER:
President Bush on the war in Iraq. He did not go
in-depth on the topic until more than half an hour
into his speech.
We're joined now by somebody who spent a lot of time
on the ground in Iraq, covering the war for us, CNN's
Michael Ware.
Michael, it's good to see you here in Washington.
MICHAEL WARE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Thanks, Anderson.
COOPER: It's probably a more dangerous town in some
ways than Baghdad, in a whole different way.
What did you think of the president's address in
terms of what he said about Iraq? Was there anything
new there? Is his policy new?
WARE: No. He uses the term, the new strategy. And I
think that is -- that's a bankrupt term. I mean, what
we see is a Band-Aid strategy that's furthering
something that hasn't already worked.
Sending an extra 21,500 troops is simply not enough.
I mean, it's a continuation of the same old, same
old. It still fails to address the fundamental
dynamics that are driving the many wars that are
plaguing Iraq.
And I mean, it still leans upon the old alliance upon
allies who have not stepped up. In fact, you see
President Bush saying we now demand more of the Iraqi
government. Then he immediately chides them. He says
you need to deploy more troops. You need to confront
the radicals. You need to come to the strategy. We've
heard all that before. Nothing's different --
Anderson.
COOPER: Well, supporters of the strategy will say
you're focusing too much on just the numbers, on the
escalation, when in fact what is different, they will
say, is the way those troops are going to be
deployed. That they're going to be deployed
throughout Baghdad, in neighborhoods. They're going
to have sweeps of neighborhoods, yes, with Iraqi
forces, but then they're not just going to pull out.
Actually, U.S. soldiers are going to be based--
WARE: They're going to stay.
COOPER: --are going to be living in these
neighborhoods. Is that new?
WARE: Right. To that degree, that's new. U.S. forces
taking and occupying ground--
COOPER: New and risky.
WARE: --with Iraqi partners.
Right.
There's a great inherent risk that goes with that. Is
the American public ready to pay the price for that?
Theoretically, they should be. Iraq is in such a
perilous and dire state, America needs to be prepared
to do what has to be done.
That's the other thing about the president's address
as to the State of the Union. He painted a picture
that was bereft of any optimism. He pointed to--
COOPER: There was no talk about winning, there was
no...
WARE: None. He said, let's listen to al Qaeda.
Something he said before. They are serious and they
mean business. And then he points out al-Anbar
Province, the commitment of more troops. Then he
says, we're now seeing an escalating danger from Shia
extremism. That's Iran.
This is the president tacitly acknowledging what many
have been saying for some time. Iran has benefited
more from this invasion, from this war, than America.
So, too, al Qaeda.
And here's the president, pointing to that and saying
what do we do about it? Well, we need to talk more,
let's add an extra layer of discussion and
bipartisanship, let's increase the size of the
military, let's put in more of a humanitarian effort.
But where is the hope? Where is the light?
COOPER: Well, we'll see. We'll see if there is any
light.
Michael Ware, appreciate it. Thanks. You'll be in
Baghdad soon?
WARE: I head there on the weekend, Anderson.
COOPER: All right. Well, Godspeed. Thanks, Michael.
WARE: Thank you.