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 WASHINGTON (AP) - Hoping to help prevent Iraq's bloody sectarian violence from turning into civil war, President Bush on Friday urged Iraqis to exercise restraint in a critical "moment of choosing." Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice called on political factions to renew efforts to form a unity government.
Bush praised Iraq's political and religious leaders who have taken steps — apparently with some success — to halt the unrest that exploded after Wednesday's bombing of one of Shiite Islam's holiest shrines. Almost 130 have died in that attack on the Askariya Shrine in Samarra and in the wave of deadly reprisals that followed.
"We can expect the coming days will be intense. Iraq remains a serious situation," Bush said in a speech to The American Legion. "But I'm optimistic, because the Iraqi people have spoken, and the Iraqi people made their intentions clear. ... They want their country to be a democracy."
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