Be prepared for more deaths....says Georgey
Bush warns of upsurge of violence in Iraq
President Bush listens to Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Blanco, left, as acting FEMA director David Paulison, right, looks on during a statement in front of a damaged hanger at Northrop Grumman in Lake Charles, La., Tuesday, Sept. 27, 2005. Bush was getting a personal look at Hurricane Rita's damage to U.S. energy resources while visiting Lake Charles, La., and Beaumont, Texas. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
By Deb Riechmann, Associated Press Writer | September 28, 2005
WASHINGTON --President Bush on Wednesday warned there will be an upsurge in violence in Iraq before next month's voting, but said the terrorists will fail. "Our troops are ready," he said.
Bush's remarks in the Rose Garden came a day after Iraqi and U.S. forces announced they had killed Abdullah Abu Azzam, the No. 2 al-Qaida leader in Iraq, during a weekend raid in Baghdad.
"This guy's a brutal killer," Bush said. (heh heh)
Al-Qaida in Iraq issued an Internet statement denying that Abu Azzam was its deputy leader, calling him "one of al-Qaida's many soldiers" and "the leader of one its battalions operating in Baghdad." The U.S.-led coalition, however, called Abu Azzam the mastermind of an escalation in suicide bombings that have killed nearly 700 people in Baghdad since April.
"We can expect they'll do everything in their power to try to stop the march of freedom," Bush said. "And our troops are ready for it."