WASHINGTON, Sept 23 (AFP) - When Iraqi Prime Minister Iyad Allawi promised US lawmakers Thursday elections in Iraq would be held on time in January, Republicans roared and Democrats politely clapped despite their doubts.
"We welcome his gratitude to US troops. But this war is botched," Democratic Maryland Senator Barbara Mikulski told AFP after the interim premier's address.
"We hope there are elections in January, but first there has to be security," said Mikulski, who added that President George W. Bush's Republican administration should not take money away from Iraq's weak infrastructure in its scramble to meet the electoral goal.
With Vice President Dick Cheney seated behind him, Allawi said: "I know that some have speculated, even doubted, whether this (January election) date can be met. So let me be absolutely clear. Elections will occur in Iraq on time in January because Iraqis want elections on time."
Speaking in English, the face of change invited by the administration, Allawi told the chamber: "We are succeeding in Iraq. It's a tough struggle with setbacks, but we are succeeding.
"My friends, today we are better off. You are better off. And the world is better off without Saddam Hussein," Allawi said. "Your decision to go to war in Iraq was not an easy one but it was the right one. I have come here to thank you, and to promise you that your sacrifices are not in vain."
Allawi also appeared with Bush in the White House Rose Garden, where they sought to soothe US worries just six weeks before the November 2 US presidential election while battling critics who have accused them of unrealistic optimism.
Republicans such as North Carolina Senator Elizabeth Dole and Florida Senator Bob Nelson told AFP they were encouraged by Allawi's message, which they said could reassure Americans.
Asked if Allawi's speech would help Bush in his campaign for reelection, Dole smiled and said: "I think it is great to have this message come out."
"I was pleased to be a part of applauding what's been accomplished in Iraq," she added.
"No one wishes him failure," said Hawaii Senator Daniel Inouye, a Democrat.
Yet Inouye said that while he would not have expected a negative speech by Allawi, "I don't think that the realities, as reported by (the media), match this optimistic assessment."
Allawi told lawmakers "in Iraq we confront both, insurgency and the global war on terror with their destructive forces sometimes overlapping.
"These killers may be just a tiny fraction of our 27 million population, but with their guns and their suicide bombs to intimidate and to frighten all the people of Iraq, I can tell you today, they will not succeed," he said, triggering one of several standing ovations in the ornate chamber.
Allawi's rare speech to a joint session of Congress came as Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry lashed out at Bush's handling of the situation in Iraq.
Speaking in Columbus, Ohio, shortly after Allawi's speech, Kerry said the prime minister was painting an unrealistically rosy picture of the situation in his homeland.
"I think the prime minister is obviously contradicting his own statement of a few days ago where he said the terrorists are pouring into the country," Kerry said. "The prime minister and the president are here, obviously, to put their best face on the policy."
"The president says that things are getting better in Iraq and we must just stay the same course," Kerry said. "Well, I disagree. They're not getting better and we need to change the course to protect our troops and to win."
Kerry said that the US president "skedaddled" out of the UN General Assembly in New York this week "so quickly he barely had time to talk to any leaders. We need a summit. ... We need to behave like we are at war and respect the lives of our soldiers that are being lost because we are at war. They deserve better leadership. They deserve a mission with a plan that can succeed."
In his speech, Allawi blamed US and international media for focusing on the unrest rather than progress toward rebuilding Iraq, a charge frequently heard among Bush allies.