Bush Lowers Temperature of Iraq War Debate:
"After fiercely defending his Iraq policy across Asia, President Bush abruptly toned down his attack on war critics Sunday and said there was nothing unpatriotic about opposing his strategy.
'People should feel comfortable about expressing their opinions about Iraq,' Bush said, three days after agreeing with Vice President
Dick Cheney that the critics were 'reprehensible.'
The president also praised Rep. John Murtha, D-Pa., as 'a fine man' and a strong supporter of the military despite the congressman's call for troop withdrawal as soon as possible.
Bush brought up the growing Iraq debate when he met reporters after inconclusive talks with President Hu Jintao about friction in U.S.-China relations. Bush ran into stiff resistance from the Chinese to his call for expanding religious freedom and human rights.
He also reported no breakthroughs toward reducing China's massive trade surplus, overhauling its currency system or protecting intellectual property rights."
- posted by geoff @ #