Bush blames Iraq violence on Saddam's divisive 'legacy'

Bush also urged Iraqi leaders to wrap up negotiations to form a national unity government. He said democracy was the "only practical way to overcome the divisions of three decades of tyranny."

"Today, some Americans ask whether removing Saddam caused the divisions and instability we're now seeing," he told Freedom House, a pro-democracy group, at a Washington hotel.

"In fact, most of the animosity and violence we now see is the legacy of Saddam Hussein. He was a tyrant who exacerbated sectarian divisions to keep himself in power," he said.

Saddam spared none of Iraq's communities, terrorizing Kurds with chemical weapons, overseeing genocide against majority Shiites and even oppressing fellow Sunnis, Bush said.

"He stayed on top by brutally repressing different Iraqi communities and pitting them one against the other," Bush said.

"Iraq is a nation that is physically and emotionally scarred by three decades of Saddam's tyranny. And these wounds will take time to heal," he said.

"They are the divisions that Saddam aggravated through deliberate policies of ethnic cleansing and sectarian violence."

The US leader said insurgents were now seizing on the divisions created by Saddam in an attempt to trigger a civil war and prevent Iraq from forming a democratic government.

"Today some Americans are asking why the Iraqi people are having such a hard time building a democracy," he said. "The reason is that the terrorists and former regime elements are exploiting the wounds inflicted under Saddam's tyranny."

Bush urged Iraqi political leaders to form a government, more than three months after the national elections.

"I want the Iraqi people to hear I've got great confidence in their capacity to self-govern. I also want the Iraqi people to hear: It's about time you get a unity government going," he said.

"In other words, Americans understand, you know, newcomers to the political arena -- but pretty soon it's time to shut her down and get governing."

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