President Bush has attended church services at Fort Hood on Easter Sunday to pray for U.S. casualties to abate in Iraq.
The president told reporters afterward today (Sunday) that the United States mission in Iraq is right for long-term peace -- but that it was hard to tell when the violence there would end. Several soldiers from the Texas base were killed in Iraq during the past week.
The U.S. military today (Sunday) announced the deaths of eight U.S. soldiers in Iraq from insurgent attacks on Friday and Saturday.
The developments come as a new opinion poll (by CNN /Time) indicates that U.S. public approval of Mr. Bush's handling of Iraq has slipped to 44 percent, with 51-percent saying they disapprove.
Mr. Bush has consistently defended U.S. policy regarding Iraq, saying America is on the right track. In his weekly radio address Saturday, Mr. Bush again dismissed calls to delay the scheduled June 30th handover of political power in Iraq.
Information for this report is provided by AP and Reuters.