WASHINGTON — President Bush and Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld took on congressional critics of their war policy Sunday, saying that U.S. troops would remain in Iraq until the Baghdad government was ready to take charge, and that those calling for a hasty withdrawal were jeopardizing the safety of Americans abroad and at home.
"An immediate withdrawal of our troops from Iraq will only strengthen the terrorists' hand in Iraq and in the broader war on terror," Bush told reporters in Beijing.
Rumsfeld agreed with his boss' assessment, telling CNN's "Late Edition" -- one of four shows on which he appeared Sunday -- that a withdrawal anytime soon "would be a terrible thing for our country and for the safety of our people."
The president's comments came at the end of his weeklong visit to Asia, during which he and members of his administration were dogged by increasingly combative questions about Iraq as approval ratings for Bush and his war policy continued to sink.
On Thursday, a respected pro-military Democratic lawmaker said he no longer supported the war policy and called for the U.S. to begin a phased withdrawal of troops, which would leave only a rapid "reaction force" in the region.
The comments by Rep. John P. Murtha of Pennsylvania were seen as a particularly damaging blow for the administration, given the decorated Marine Corps veteran's ties to the military over his 31-year congressional career. The White House and congressional Republicans sparked a furor late last week by leveling attacks on him.
But during an informal meeting with reporters in Beijing on Sunday after his series of talks with Chinese leaders, Bush praised Murtha.
"Congressman Murtha is a fine man, a good man who served our country with honor and distinction as a Marine in Vietnam and as a United States congressman," Bush said. "And I know the decision to call for an immediate withdrawal of our troops by Congressman Murtha was done in a careful and thoughtful way."
Bush also went out of his way to call the Iraq question a "worthy debate" in which even patriotic Americans could disagree.
"People should feel comfortable about expressing their opinions about Iraq," he said. "I heard somebody say, well, maybe so-and-so is not patriotic because they disagree with my position. I totally reject that thought."
