Bush acknowledges difficulties in Iraq

The address capped an extraordinary media campaign in recent weeks by the White House to recover the political ground lost since US forces invaded Iraq 33 months ago.

Acknowledging that the work in Iraq has been especially difficult or ‘‘more difficult than we expected’’, he took on his critics by pointing out that any hasty pullout might mean severe consequences. ‘‘It is also important for every American to understand the consequences of pulling out of Iraq before our work is done. We would abandon our Iraqi friends— and signal to the world that America cannot be trusted to keep its word.’’‘‘To retreat before victory would be an act of recklessness and dishonour and I will not allow it,’’ he emphasised adding that scaling down in Iraq is related to the progress made on the ground and on different fronts. ‘‘I will make decisions on troop levels based on the progress we see on the ground and the advice of our military leaders — not based on artificial timetables set by politicians in Washington. Our forces in Iraq are on the road to victory — and that is the road that will take them home,’’ he said.

‘‘Some look at the challenges in Iraq and conclude that the war is lost,” he remarked.‘‘I don’t believe that. Our military commanders do not believe that. Our troops in the field who bear the burden and make the sacrifice do not believe that America has lost. —Reuters

US operated secret prison near Kabul: Rights group

New York: US officials operated a secret prison near Kabul where detainees were abused and tortured as recently as 2004, the rights group Human Rights Watch said today, citing former inmates as sources. Eight detainees being held at the prison for terror suspects at the US naval base in Guantanamo Bay in Cuba described to their attorneys how they were held at a site near Kabul they called the ‘‘dark prison’’ or ‘‘prison of darkness’’, the group said in a statement. The witnesses, held at various times between 2002 and 2004, said US interrogators and US and Afghan guards wore no uniforms at the site, which suggests that the prison may have been operated by personnel from the Central Intelligence Agency, HRW said. —AFP