Washington - Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's assault against Shiite militants in the southern city of Basra was "bold" and demonstrates the growing capability of Iraq's security forces, US President George W Bush said Thursday. "Prime Minister Maliki's bold decision - and it was a bold decision - to go after the illegal groups in Basra shows his leadership and his commitment to enforce the law in an even-handed manner," Bush said.
Al-Maliki's "bold decision to go after the illegal groups in Basra shows his leadership and his commitment to enforce the law in an even handed manner," Bush said in Dayton, Ohio.
Bush accused Iran of backing the militants who had taken Basra as a stronghold until the offensive began earlier this week. Al-Maliki on Wednesday gave the militias 72 hours to surrender their arms.
"Iraqi security forces are waging a tough battle against militia fighters and criminals in Basra, many of whom have received arms and training and funding from Iran," Bush said.
Nearly 30,000 Iraqi troops are involved in the assault against the militias in Basra. Al-Maliki has also gone after militants in parts of Baghdad affiliated with radical Shiite cleric Moqtada al- Sadr.
Bush touted the Iraqi offensive as a sign the Iraqi security forces have grown in strength under the breathing room provided by the US troop surge he ordered last year.
"The surge is doing what it was designed to do," Bush said. "It's helping Iraqis reclaim security and restart political and economic life."
Bush has pinned any withdrawal of US troops to the successful buildup of Iraq's security forces.
Bush said the Iraqi operation will require "some time" but that the outcome was certain.
"The ultimate result will be this: Terrorists and extremists in Iraq will know they have no place in a free and democratic society," he said.
Bush met with his top military brass this week to discuss the progress being made in Iraq, but has already signalled there may be no additional withdrawals of the 30,000 extra troops sent to Iraq last year, raising the US presence to 160,000 soldiers. A few thousand have since pulled out.
The top US commander in Iraq, General David Petraeus, and the US ambassador to Baghdad, Ryan Crocker, are due to testify before Congress in April on the progress of the troop surge.
