President Bush yesterday vowed that U.S. troops would stay in Iraq despite ongoing attacks by Iraqis opposed to the occupation. And he taunted Iraqi militants who plan to attack American troops. He said:

“We’ll put together a force structure who meets the threats on the ground. And we’ve got a lot of forces there, ourselves. And as I said yesterday, anybody who wants to harm American troops will be found and brought to justice. There are some who feel like that if they attack us that we may decide to leave prematurely. They don’t understand what they’re talking about, if that’s the case.

“Let me finish. There are some who feel like — that the conditions are such that they can attack us there. My answer is, bring them on. We’ve got the force necessary to deal with the security situation.”

Congressional Democrats quickly criticized Bush’s comment.

New Jersey Senator Frank Lautenberg said, “I am shaking my head in disbelief. When I served in the Army in Europe during World War II, I never heard any military commander — let alone the commander in chief — invite enemies to attack U.S. troops.” Lautenberg said Bush’s words were “tantamount to inciting and inviting more attacks against U.S. forces.”