President Bush has used his weekly radio address to hail Iraq's passage of a new constitution while warning that more sacrifice will be required from U.S. and coalition troops.
President Bush says the passage of a new constitution shows that democracy is taking hold in Iraq, isolating extremists who he says want to derail democracy through violence and murder.
"Instead of surrendering to intimidation, the Iraqi people once again risked their lives for their liberty," said President Bush. "Instead of turning against one another, the Iraqi people turned out to express their will at the polls. And instead of allowing their nation to become a haven for terrorists, the Iraqis are choosing democracy and freedom for their country."
The president says terrorists in Iraq want to establish a totalitarian state to use as a base of attack against Muslims and non-Muslims who disagree with what Mr. Bush calls their twisted perversion of the Muslim faith.
President Bush says the security of Americans at home is directly linked to greater freedom and peace in the Middle East.
"The success of the new Iraqi government is critical to winning the war on terror and protecting the American people," he said. "Ensuring that success will require more sacrifice, more time, and more resolve, and it will involve more risk for Iraqis and for American and coalition forces."
The U.S. death toll in Iraq this past week rose above 2000. In his weekly radio address, Mr. Bush said the nation has lost some of its finest men and women in the fight against terrorism. The best way to honor that sacrifice, he says, is to complete the mission by training Iraqi security forces and helping a newly elected government meet the needs of the Iraqi people.
In the Democratic radio address, Michigan Congressman John Dingell criticized Congressional Republicans for subsidizing U.S. oil companies that are showing record profits while energy costs are soaring.
Congressman Dingell says killer hurricanes along the Gulf Coast this year disrupted refining capacity, further driving up petroleum prices and showing what he says is the lack of a Bush Administration energy policy for the future.
"What was the Republicans' answer to the hurricanes? More subsidies to the oil industry whose largest company, Exxon/Mobil, recently reported a $9.9 billion profit in the third quarter alone," said John Dingell. "That's right. Millions of your hard-earned tax dollars would go to the same companies reaping the benefits of $3-a-gallon gas and $60-a-barrel oil."
Congressman Dingell wants Congressional Republicans to allocate more money to help poorer Americans pay what will be higher heating bills this winter.
He says Democrats want to increase energy efficiency for vehicles and encourage more private sector research into alternative energy technologies.