Today Begins the 5th Year in Iraq as Bush Pleads Patience

Iraq War Anniversary: Today Marks Start of Fifth Year of War in Iraq

It was four years ago today, that President bush announced the start of the war in Iraq. And this weekend, that anniversary was marked with protests locally, nationally, and around the world.

Four years ago today, the U.S. began its fighting against Iraq. The regime of Saddam Hussein soon fell in the invasion that followed. But the optimism of those early days in the fighting has long since dissipated, in the bloodshed of a guerrilla war that is still being waged.

It is the most sobering of anniversaries – one that might go un-noticed to many Iraqis, who are just trying to stay alive.

Four years after the U.S. invasion to depose a brutal dictator, 80-percent of Iraqis have been near the scene of an attack – according to a new ABC News poll that asked Iraqi's about how they live now. There have been so many bombings, that only 30-percent of children are attending school, which is down from 75-percent two years ago…

President Bush continues to urge patience.

"And success will take months, not days or weeks," Bush says. "Those on the ground are seeing some hopeful signs."

Earlier this year, the President ordered thousands more U.S. troops into Iraq, in hopes of containing the spiraling violence in Baghdad, where 100-percet of Iraqis say they do not feel safe. Bush points out there has been some success.

"Together, we've carried out aggressive operations against both Shi'ite and Sunni extremists, (and) carried out operations against al-Qaeda terrorists," says Bush. "We've uncovered large caches of weapons and destroyed two major car bomb factories that were located on the outskirts of Baghdad."

But Americans are increasingly unconvinced. Over the weekend, from coast-to-coast, thousands of protestors renewed their calls to bring troops home.

"We are destroying a nation, we are ruining economies, especially our own, and of course the Iraqis," one protestor said.

"I will be brutally honest – it is insane to believe that more of the same will end it," said another protestor.

More than 32-hundred U.S. troops have died in Iraq, and tens of thousands have been wounded.

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