VesselforJesus

Jan 12, 7:49 PM (ET) By TERENCE HUNT MANAMA, Bahrain (AP) - President Bush said Saturday he is open to the possibility of slowing or stopping plans to bring home more U.S. troops from Iraq, defying domestic demands to speed the withdrawals. Updated on war developments, Bush said the U.S. presence in Iraq will outlast his presidency. Bush said any decision about troop levels "needs to be based upon success," but that there was no discussion about specific numbers when he was briefed by Gen. David Petraeus, the top U.S. commander in Iraq, and Ryan Crocker, the U.S. ambassador to Baghdad. The president was cheered by news that Iraq's parliament had approved legislation reinstating thousands of former supporters of Saddam Hussein's dissolved Baath party to government jobs. Bush had prodded Iraqi leaders for more than a year to enact the law. "It's an important step toward reconciliation," Bush said as he opened talks with Bahrain's King Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa. "It's an important sign that the leaders of that country understand that they must work together to meet the aspirations of the Iraqi people." The first U.S. president to visit Bahrain received a splashy welcome. Sword-waving men in flowing robes and headdresses swayed and danced to rhythmic music in a palace courtyard. The president and the king were presented with swords and flashed them skyward. The war, now in its fifth year, was a dominant theme during Bush's stops in Kuwait and Bahrain, two Persian Gulf nations crucial to U.S. military efforts in the region. Kuwait, invaded by Saddam and liberated by a U.S.-led war in 1991, is a major military staging area for the deployment of U.S. troops and equipment. Bahrain is headquarters of the U.S. Navy's 5th Fleet. Bush, speaking to U.S. forces in Kuwait, gave one of his most optimistic assessments of the war. "There is no doubt in my mind when history was written, the final page will say: Victory was achieved by the United States of America for the good of the world," he said. Bush began the day receiving an hourlong briefing from Petraeus and Crocker at Camp Arifjan, the largest U.S. base in Kuwait and home to about 9,000 American troops. Acting on the two men's recommendation a year ago, Bush ordered a buildup of 30,000 U.S. forces in Iraq. In September, again on their advice, Bush announced he would withdraw some troops from by July - essentially the 30,000 in the buildup - but still keep the U.S. level there at about 130,000. With Petraeus at his side, Bush said, "My attitude is, if he didn't want to continue the drawdown, that's fine with me, in order to make sure we succeed, see. I said to the general, 'If you want to slow her down, fine. It's up to you.'" (AP) US President George W. Bush, left, and Bahrain's king, Hamad bin Isa Al-Khalifa, right, hold up... Full Image Petraeus and Crocker are to give Congress an update on Iraq in March and make a recommendation about troop levels. "Iraq is now a different place from one year ago," the president said. "Much hard work remains, but levels of violence are significantly reduced. Hope is returning to Baghdad and hope is returning to towns and villages throughout the country." Polls show people in the U.S. overwhelmingly oppose the war. The Democratic-led Congress has tried for a year to force Bush to order withdrawals or set deadlines for pullbacks. But Bush, supported by most GOP lawmakers, has prevailed in every showdown. Iran also is a main issue of Bush's trip, particularly in the five Gulf nations he is visiting. Nervous about Iran's military might and rising influence, Gulf leaders also are anxious about last week's confrontation between U.S. and Iranian naval vessels off their shore. Arab allies want assurances that Bush is not interested in starting a war that could threaten military bases on their soil or the lucrative oil trade through the Strait of Hormuz. But they also want security commitments from the president. Bush said Iran "has supported extremist groups with training and lethal aid." Petraeus told reporters that the overall flow of weaponry from Iran into Iraq appears to be down, but attacks with "explosively formed projectiles" tied to Tehran are up by a factor of two or three in recent days. "Frankly, we are trying to determine why that might be," he said. The roadside bombs, known as EFPs, are armor-piercing explosives that have killed hundreds of U.S. soldiers in Iraq. U.S. military officials have said for months that mainly Shiite Iran has been supplying the devices to Shiite militias in Iraq. Tehran denies it. In Bahrain, Bush congratulated the king for holding free elections and noted the election two years ago of a female member of parliament. "Our two nations share a common vision for the future of the Middle East," Bush said at the welcome ceremony. Bush's comments echoed his praise for similar democratic gains in Kuwait, where women were given the vote in 2005. (AP) US President George W. Bush, second from the left, speaks to members of the media, Saturday, Jan.... Full Image Posing for pictures in Bahrain with the king, Bush said, "I know you've been concerned about Iraq and the politics of Iraq." Bush went on to talk about the action in Iraq's parliament. "I come with an upbeat message, a hopeful message - a message that will prevail here in the Middle East," Bush said. Earlier, in Kuwait, Bush spoke optimistically about Iraq despite his oft-stated frustrations about the slow pace of progress. "I'm not making excuses for a government, but to go from a tyranny to a democracy overnight is virtually impossible," Bush said. "And so when you say, 'Am I pleased with the progress?' _what they have gone through and where they are today I think is good progress. Have they done enough? No. Are we going to continue to work with them to do more? Absolutely. Absolutely." Our message is very clear: It's in your interest that you pass good law. A White House spokesman, Gordon Johndroe, said Bush called Jordan's King Abdullah II to update him on his trip to the Middle East. The visit is built around Bush's fresh drive to secure a peace pact between Israel and the Palestinians this year. "He told his majesty that he was encouraged by what he found in Israel and the Palestinian territories and hopeful about the progress that can be made there," Johndroe said.

New ID Rules May Complicate Air Travel Jan 11, 8:22 PM (ET) By DEVLIN BARRETT WASHINGTON (AP) - Millions of air travelers may find going through airport security much more complicated this spring, as the Bush administration heads toward a showdown with state governments over post-Sept. 11 rules for new driver's licenses. By May, the dispute could leave millions of people unable to use their licenses to board planes, but privacy advocates called that a hollow threat by federal officials. Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff, who was unveiling final details of the REAL ID Act's rules on Friday, said that if states want their licenses to remain valid for air travel after May 2008, those states must seek a waiver indicating they want more time to comply with the legislation. The deadline is an effort to get states to begin phasing in the REAL ID program. Citizens born after Dec. 1, 1964, would have six years to get a new license; older Americans would have until 2017. Chertoff said that for any state which doesn't seek such a waiver by May, residents of that state will have to use a passport or certain types of federal border-crossing cards if they want to avoid a vigorous secondary screening at airport security "The last thing I want to do is punish citizens of a state who would love to have a REAL ID license but can't get one," Chertoff said. "But in the end, the rule is the rule as passed by Congress." The plan's chief critic, the American Civil Liberties Union, called Chertoff's deadline a bluff - and urged state governments to call him on it. "Are they really prepared to shut those airports down? Which is what effectively would happen if the residents of those states are going to have to go through secondary scrutiny," said Barry Steinhardt, director of the ACLU's technology and liberty program. "This is a scare tactic." So far, 17 states have passed legislation or resolutions objecting to the REAL ID Act's provisions, many due to concerns it will cost them too much to comply. The 17, according to the ACLU, are Arkansas, Colorado, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Maine, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee and Washington. Maine officials said Friday they were unsure if their own state law even allows them to ask for a waiver. "It certainly seems to be an effort by the federal government to create compliance with REAL ID whether states have an interest in doing so or not," said Don Cookson, spokesman for the Maine secretary of state's office. The Sept. 11 attacks were the main motivation for the changes: The hijacker-pilot who flew into the Pentagon, Hani Hanjour, had four driver's licenses and ID cards from three states. The Homeland Security Department and other officials say the only way to ensure an ID is safe is to check it against secure government data; critics such as the ACLU say that creates a system that is more likely to be infiltrated and have its personal data pilfered. Congress passed the REAL ID law in 2005, but the effort has been delayed by opposition from states worried about the cost and civil libertarians upset about what they believe are invasions of privacy. A key deadline would come in 2011, when federal authorities hope all states will be in compliance. To make the plan more appealing to cost-conscious states, federal authorities drastically reduced the expected cost from $14.6 billion to $3.9 billion, a 73 percent decline, said Homeland Security officials familiar with the plan. By 2014, anyone seeking to board an airplane or enter a federal building would have to present a REAL ID-compliant card, with the notable exception of those older than 50, Homeland Security officials said. The over-50 exemption was created to give states more time to get everyone new licenses, and officials say the risk of someone in that age group being a terrorist, illegal immigrant or con artist is much less. By 2017, even those over 50 must have a REAL ID-compliant card to board a plane. Among other details of the REAL ID plan: _The traditional driver's license photograph would be taken at the beginning of the application instead of the end so that if someone is rejected for failure to prove identity and citizenship, the applicant's photo would be kept on file and checked if that person tried to con the system again. _The cards will have three layers of security measures but will not contain microchips as some had expected. States will be able to choose from a menu which security measures they will put in their cards. _After Social Security and immigration status checks become nationwide practice, officials plan to move on to more expansive security checks. State DMV offices would be required to verify birth certificates; check with other states to ensure an applicant doesn't have more than one license; and check with the State Department to verify applicants who use passports to get a driver's license.