http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2005/08/28/national/w112656D55.DTLBush: U.S. Will Help Assure Iraq's Success
By JENNIFER LOVEN, Associated Press Writer
President Bush on Sunday dismissed the rejection of Iraq's new draft constitution by Sunni negotiators as the opinion of a few, expressing confidence that the failure to secure backing from all the country's ethnic and political groups won't derail a transition to democracy.
Bush also predicted an increase in insurgent attacks that will be "more desperate, more despicable and more vicious" leading up to the Oct. 15 referendum in which Iraqis will vote on whether to accept or reject the document. He said the United States would help assure success for the Iraqis, but didn't say precisely how.
"We are determined to see the Iraqis fully secure their democratic gains," Bush told reporters in a brief statement delivered in a helicopter hangar on his ranch. "This course is going to be difficult, largely because the terrorists have chosen to wage war against a future of freedom."
The president, who spoke briefly to reporters from a helicopter hangar on his ranch, did not take questions.