Bush, Cheney Upbeat On Terror War

CBS/AP ^ | Jan. 4, 2006

[ncountylee]

President Bush and Vice President Cheney teamed up Wednesday to offer an upbeat assessment of the war on terror and press for renewal of the Patriot Act.

"There's a lot of work to be done in this war on terror," Mr. Bush said at the Pentagon after a meeting with top military brass. "But the American people can rest assured this administration understands the task, and understands the challenges and understands our obligation to protect you, to protect the American people."

Mr. Bush heard reports from Gen. George Casey, the top U.S. commander in Iraq; Gen. John Abizaid, chief of Central Command, and Lt. Gen. Martin Dempsey, the commander in charge of training and equipping the Iraqi military and police. Also taking part in the briefing was Zalmay Khalilzad, the U.S. ambassador to Baghdad.

Mr. Bush said they recognized terrorists still threaten the world.

"We talked about the areas of concern in this global war on terror, recognizing that the enemy, which has an ideology of hate and a desire to kill, lurks in parts around the world," he said. "I assured those generals that this administration will do everything in our power to bring these enemies to justice."

Mr. Bush did not announce anything new after his first visit to the Pentagon this year. Instead, he repeated his arguments for staying the course that were his major focus at the end of 2005.

Public support for the war has dropped in recent months, but the president has helped drive those numbers up just before the holidays with a major public relations blitz surrounding the December parliamentary elections in Iraq.

He said Iraqi troops were responsible for the security of the elections, with U.S. forces standing by to help if needed. He said Casey reported the Iraqis' work was "superb

[TexasCajun]

Big Media Not Upbeat On Terror War

[Right_in_Virginia]

This is the best headline CBS could come up with?

How about replacing "upbeat" with "confident"?