Special report:Tension escalates in Iraq

    BEIJING, March 20 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President George W. Bush steered clear of talking about whether or not the Iraq war has been a victory on its fourth anniversary, and instead focused on his envisioned future of the violence-plagued country.

    With missiles raining down on Baghdad, Bush gave his five-minute-long war declaration speech four years ago, cautioning that the conflict "could be longer and more difficult than some expect."

    Four years later and Bush's words have come true, as the war has gone on much longer and with higher costs than Washington ever expected.

    Without ever using the word "victory," Bush avoided looking back at the war, but turned to pleading for patience with his new plan to restore peace in Iraq.

    "The Baghdad security plan is still in its early stages and success will take months, not days or weeks," the embattled president said, warning that a U.S. departure would spark chaos in Iraq which would engulf the whole region.

    However, some give their own judgment about the war, saying it is doomed to be a failure.

    Vladimir Shamanov, an adviser of the Russian defense minister, said Monday that the U.S.-launched Iraq war could evolve into a national disaster for the superpower.

    Meanwhile, South Korea's Yonhap News Agency Monday published an article saying the war in Iraq has become unwinnable and is doomed to failure.

    The U.S. has failed to find Saddam's alleged stockpiles of weapons of mass destruction, and has instead become immersed deeply in war over the past four years, the article said.

    Washington should learn from the Vietnam War and come to realize the fact that the right way to restore peace and stability in Iraq is to withdraw from the country as soon as possible and let the Iraqi people solve the current problems by themselves, it added.

    However, much else had been avoided in Bush's eight-minute speech.

    A newly released poll conducted by ABC News and media partners drew a stark portrait of an increasingly pessimistic population in Iraq under great emotional stress.

    About three-quarters of Iraqis report feelings of anger, depression and difficulty concentrating, while more than half of them have curtailed activities like going out of their homes, going to markets or other crowded places and traveling through police checkpoints, it said.

    Only 18 percent of Iraqis have confidence in the U.S. and its coalition troops, and 86 percent are concerned that someone in their household will be a victim of violence, it added.

    While 63 percent said they felt very safe in their neighborhoods in late 2005, only 26 percent feel that way now, the poll showed.

    The major cause, it concluded, is the continuing violence - bombings, attacks by roving gunmen and kidnappings - that has overwhelmed the country since the U.S. invasion was launched.