Peace on Earth

Christmas Day.

Final Advent Calendar.

Rumsfeld Tells U.S. Troops in Iraq They Can Win.

Noting some critics call Iraq a "quagmire" like Vietnam, Rumsfeld acknowledged there were times "when it looks bleak, when one worries how it's going to come out" but said the war could be won: "There is no doubt in my mind this is achievable".

All this is a far cry from Bush's speech way back on Friday, 2 May, 2003 when he addressed the nation from the USS Abraham Lincoln and announced, "Major combat operations in Iraq have ended. In the battle of Iraq, the United States and our allies have prevailed. And now our coalition is engaged in securing and reconstructing that country. In this battle, we have fought for the cause of liberty, and for the peace of the world".

The speech contains these words - "Men and women in every culture need liberty like they need food, and water, and air. Everywhere that freedom arrives, humanity rejoices" and "We are helping to rebuild Iraq, where the dictator built palaces for himself, instead of hospitals and schools for the people."

Inside Falluja: 'Nothing to come back to'