Bush warns of ‘consequences of failure in Iraq’

President Bush Saturday expressed a willingness to work with the Democratic-lead Congress to craft a new Iraq funding bill, but he stood firm on his view that pulling troops out of the country before securing it would have dire consequences.

Bush said in his weekly radio address that he had “a positive meeting” Wednesday with Democratic and Republican congressional leaders. The meeting followed the president’s  veto of an Iraq supplemental spending bill that included a troop withdrawal timetable.

{mosads}Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) assured him that “they are committed to funding our troops,” Bush said.

The president also noted that he has dispatched his Chief of Staff Josh Bolten, National Security Advisor Steve Hadley and Budget Director Rob Portman to work with Democrats on the new spending legislation.

Bush then urged Congress to “give General [David] Petraeus’ plan a chance to work” and warned of the effect an earlier troop withdrawal could have.

“The consequences of failure in Iraq are clear,” the president said. “If we were to leave Iraq before the government can defend itself, there would be a security vacuum in the country. Extremists from all factions could compete to fill that vacuum, causing sectarian killing to multiply on a horrific scale.”

He added that if American troops were pulled out of Iraq before securing the country al Qaeda “would be emboldened by their victory, protected by their new sanctuary, eager to impose their hateful vision on surrounding countries, and eager to harm Americans.”