[Mb-civic] Bush: I would accept Islamic Iraq BBC

[Michael Butler]

 Bush: I would accept Islamic Iraq
 US President George W Bush has said he would accept an Islamic government
in Iraq as the result of free elections.

 Mr Bush told the Associated Press in an interview that he would accept such
a result if elections were open and fair.

 "I will be disappointed. But democracy is democracy," he said during an
interview given on Air Force One.

 "If that's what the people choose, that's what the people choose," he said.
Free elections are expected in the country next January.

 Speaking as he travelled between campaign stops, Mr Bush said the US would
leave Iraq "once we've helped them to get on the path of stability and
democracy".

 He added: "It's very difficult for me to predict what forces will exist
although I will tell you that Iraq's leadership has made it quite clear that
they can manage their own affairs at the appropriate time."

 Correspondents say Mr Bush's comments appear to clash with earlier remarks
from his administration which rejected calls soon after the fall of Saddam
Hussein's regime for the creation of an Islamic state similar to that of its
neighbour, Iran.

 Story from BBC NEWS:
 http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/americas/3755850.stm

 Published: 2004/10/19 11:44:51 GMT

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