"See, we're in a war. People wanna come and attack you and attack our country. I understand criticism. But I've got a pretty thick hide."
NEW YORK: Accepting that the Iraq war had made him unpopular, US President George W Bush has said he would not budge from his decision of sending more troops to the war-torn country despite opposition from the Congress as it would empower Iran and threaten world peace.
"I fully understand they (Congress) could try to stop me. But I have made my decision and we're going forward," Bush told CBS news in an interview telecast last night.
Asked about the plummeting support for the war, he admitted that the Iraq war hasn't gone as well as he had hoped.
"And people are, you know, people are discouraged. They don't approve of where we are. And so I think it's where the country is."
On why he was determined to go his own when most of the nations have not back his plan, Bush asserted that he is not going to change his principle just to be popular.
When the interviewer questioned that he was not very popular anyway, he replied, "I'm afraid you're right.
"Failure in Iraq would empower Iran, which poses a significant threat to world peace," Bush said.
Asked what mistakes was he talking about in his speech in which he announced sending more than 21,000 troops, Bush said, "Abu Ghaib was a mistake. Using bad language like, you know, 'bring them on' was a mistake. I think that history is gonna look back and see a lot of ways we could have done things better. No question about it."
"There's not enough troops on the ground right now to provide security for Iraq. And that's why I made the decision I made," Bush asserted.
The interview came in the backdrop of overnight polls showing Bush's primetime address to the nation had not convinced many people that sending more troops was the answer.
This was a hard decision, he said. But once he made up his mind he knows it's important for him to explain it as clearly as he could, he added.
Replying to another question, the US President said, he was a flexible, open-minded person.
"Take this policy. I spent a lot of time listening to a lot of people because, I fully understand the decisions I make could affect the life of some kid who wears the uniform.
Or could affect the life of some child growing up in America 20 years from now," he added.
He replied in the negative when asked if the perception that war is not going in the right direction is crushing his spirit.
"Quite the contrary. My spirits are strong, and I'm blessed to be the president," Bush added.
"I really am not the kind of guy that sits here and says, 'Oh, gosh, I'm worried about my legacy.' I'm more worried about making the right decisions to protect the United States of America. See, we're in a war. People wanna come and attack you and attack our country. I understand criticism. But I've got a pretty thick hide."
If the United States starts withdrawing now, it would have a crisis in its hands in Iraq, Bush said. "And not only in Iraq but failure in Iraq will embolden the enemy. And the enemy is al Qaeda and extremists."
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