President Bush on Wednesday said the deaths of Saddam Hussein's two sons marked progress in assuring the Iraqi people that the old regime was gone forever, but said "I don't know how close we are" to finding the deposed leader.
"Closer than we were yesterday, I guess. All I know is we're on the hunt," he added.
Despite nearly daily deaths of American soldiers in Iraq, Bush appealed for patience as Iraqis try and form a new society. "I didn't expect Thomas Jefferson to emerge in Iraq in a 90-day period," he said.
Bush said the United States and its allies would "complete our mission in Iraq, We will complete our mission in Afghanistan ... We will wage the war on terror against every enemy that plots against our people."
The US leader also accepted personal responsibility for a controversial portion of last winter's State of the Union address dealing with claims that Saddam Hussein was seeking nuclear material in Africa.
"I take personal responsibility for everything I say, absolutely," the president said at his White House news conference.
Despite these comments, Bush said weapons of mass destruction will be found in Iraq. "We have teams of investigators hard at work to prove the truth," he said. "We are getting closer to the truth. We know he (Saddam) used chemical weapons," he conveyed. (Albawaba.com)
© 2003 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
