Bush says U.S. must not abandon Iraq to militants

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Bush said on Tuesday the
United States will stick to its mission in Iraq, saying a
sudden withdrawal of U.S. troops would leave the country
vulnerable to a takeover by militants like Osama bin Laden and
Abu Musab al-Zarqawi.

“A sudden withdrawal of our forces from Iraq would abandon
our Iraqi allies to death and prison, put men like bin Laden
and Zarqawi in charge of a strategic country and show that a
pledge from America means little,” Bush said in his State of
the Union speech.

Bush has faced waning support for the nearly three-year war
and calls in recent months to draw up a timetable for troops to
pull out. He said the United States should be able to further
reduce troop levels in Iraq but gave no specifics and said
those decisions would be made by military commanders.