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GUEST: Phyllis Bennis, Middle East analyst for Foreign Policy In Focus, a senior analyst at the Institute for Policy Studies

Speaking on the fifth anniversary of the Iraq war, President Bush yesterday defended US policy saying it had made the US and the world a safer place. He also acknowledged the high cost and length of the war while asserting that the strategy behind the so-called surge was working. Meanwhile the man who hopes to be Bush’s Republican successor to the White House, John McCain, marked his trip to Iraq with a statement echoing Bush’s rationale for the war. The top US commander in Iraq, General David Petraeus will appear before Congress in early April to present his recommendations on how to continue the war. In Iraq this week, a national conference designed to bring together warring factions, was largely boycotted, particularly by the Sunni bloc. In wrapping his 2-day surprise visit to Iraq, Vice President Dick Cheney visited the autonomous Kurdish region, calling on its leaders to play a more active role in the US-sponsored government.