Iraq Chaos May Cloud Bush's Sept. 11 Legacy

Tue September 2, 2003 09:01 AM ET
By Adam Entous

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Two years and two wars after the Sept. 11 attacks, George W. Bush's aura of invincibility has faded and his challenge may be to keep his presidency from being more associated with Americans dying in Iraq than with his dramatic pledge at Ground Zero to battle terrorism.

The suicide attacks, which killed more than 3,000 people, marked a defining moment for Bush. Images of the commander-in-chief at the smoking ruins of the World Trade Center eased public doubts about his ability to lead a nation still divided by the contested 2000 presidential election.

With his job approval ratings above 80 percent and opposition Democrats wary of challenging him on national security, Bush seemed unbeatable.

Those days are gone. His polls numbers have dropped. And despite high-profile arrests in his declared "war on terrorism," al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden and former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein remain at large and may be behind recent attacks against Americans.

Bush may be remembered less for his words at the World Trade Center disaster site than for his landing on a U.S. aircraft carrier to declare the end of major combat operations in Iraq on May 1 -- a claim widely seen as premature given the guerrilla war still underway.

More