Iraq: Rallying cry from fading Bush

asiatimes: Hoping to reverse plunging confidence in his strategy for Iraq - and in his own leadership - US President George W Bush on Wednesday launched a major campaign to persuade the public that Washington is indeed prevailing against the insurgency there.

Speaking before a generally friendly, if somewhat restrained audience of cadets at the US Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, Bush vowed to settle for "nothing less than complete victory" and repeated previous warnings against setting a timetable for the withdrawal of US forces.

To coincide with Bush's speech, however, the White House released a "National Strategy for Victory in Iraq", which suggested that the administration is indeed preparing to draw down US troops in 2006.

"We expect, but cannot guarantee, that our force posture will change over the next year, as the political process consolidates and as Iraqi security forces grow and gain experience," the 35-page document stated, noting as well that US forces would increasingly "move to supporting roles in most areas".

And in spite of Bush's insistence that the US would not leave until it achieved "complete victory", the strategy document asserted that Iraq "is likely to struggle with some level of violence for many years to come".

Bush's speech, as well as the strategy document's release, marks the beginning of an unprecedented campaign to rally the public behind the president, as well as his policy in Iraq. Read more