CRAWFORD, Texas – The ongoing, emotional debate over Iraq came to President Bush's doorstep Saturday.

While protesters near the presidential ranch in Crawford urged that American troops be brought home from Iraq, Mr. Bush called the troops' effort there a major offensive in the war on terrorism.

"There will be no flinching in this war on terror, and there will be no retreat," Mr. Bush said in his weekly radio address.

Six-year-old Grace Robison, wearing a tee-shirt with a photo of her father, 1st Lt. Mike Robison, hugs her mother Candance Robison at an anti-war protest in Crawford, Texas where President Bush is vacationing, August 23, 2003. Robison's father is currently in Falujah, Iraq has been deployed since March and is now not scheduled to return to the US until mid-December. REUTERS/Rick Wilking

Among those gathering at the local football stadium to denounce both Mr. Bush and the war, four days after a terrorist bombing at the U.N. headquarters in Baghdad, were relatives of troops.

"George Bush does not support our soldiers," said Candance Robison, whose husband is an Army lieutenant in Iraq. "He lies to our nation and our soldiers about our reasons for going to war. He makes thoughtless statements like, 'Bring 'em on' to the Saddam loyalists who target our troops."

Ms. Robison is part of Military Families Speak Out, one of the groups that sponsored the protest. Veterans for Peace also helped organize the rally, which drew about 100 people.

As songs were sung and speeches delivered, the critics carried signs that read: "Bush says 'Bring 'em On' – Instead, let's bring them home;" "Get That Unelected Warmonger Out of the White House;" and "Richard Cheney – Get The Halliburton out of Iraq."

Some protested the extended tours of duty in Iraq and cuts in veterans' benefits.

Others cited continuing guerilla attacks on U.S. soldiers and the failure to date to find weapons of mass destruction, calling the entire rationale for the war into question.

"We have recently found out the reasons weren't exactly truthful," said Christyne Harris, who has a son-in-law in Iraq. "I think the morale is sinking."

Bush administration officials have said evidence indicated that Saddam Hussein continued to seek weapons programs in defiance of U.N. sanctions imposed after the first Gulf War.

During his prerecorded radio address, Mr. Bush said Iraq was on its way to becoming a "stable, self-governing society," and "this progress makes the remaining terrorists even more desperate and willing to lash out against symbols of order and hope, like coalition forces and U.N. personnel."

"A violent few will not determine the future of Iraq, and there will be no return to the days of Saddam Hussein's torture chambers and mass graves," Mr. Bush added.

The president also condemned last week's suicide bombing aboard a bus in Jerusalem, saying Palestinian terrorists are undermining their people's hopes for an independent state. He urged Palestinians and Israelis to continue to work together toward peace.

"A Palestinian state will never be built on a foundation of violence," Mr. Bush said.

The Bush critics who journeyed to Crawford had various opinions about the president and what course he should take in Iraq.

Some protesters, who endured a brief rain shower, accused Mr. Bush of lying to justify the war, while others said he was only mistaken. Some called for immediate withdrawal from Iraq, while others urged the administration to seek U.N. help in stabilizing Iraq.

But all said they wanted their loved ones back as soon as possible.

"We're not going to stop until we get our soldiers home," Ms. Robison said. "And it's going to get bigger and bigger."

© 2003, The Dallas Morning News

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