WASHINGTON (AP) - With American casualties in Iraq at their highest levels in a year, President Bush said Wednesday the "events of the past month have been a serious concern to me." At the same time, he said, "it remains critical that the United States defeats the enemy" in a long and brutal war.
"Our security at home depends on assuring that Iraq is an ally in the war on terror," Bush said in the opening moments of a White House news conference less than two weeks before midterm elections.
Bush made clear at the outset that he intended to devote several minutes to an update on the war in Iraq, telling reporters he intended to speak for longer than usual before taking their questions.
He said that as those killing Americans and Iraqi trooops change tactics, so, too, will the U.S. military. He also sought a middle ground in terms of pressing the Iraqis to accept more of the responsibility for their own fate.
"We are making it clear that America's patience is not unlimited," he said. "We will not put more pressure on the Iraqi government than it can bear."
Bush spoke as polls showed the public has become strongly opposed to the war, and increasing numbers of Republican candidates have signaled impatience with the president's policies.
