Bush Seeks to Reassure Nation on Iraq

Bush was vague about the eventual U.S. departure. "America's task in Iraq is not only to defeat an enemy, it is to give strength to a friend -- a free, representative government that serves its people and fights on their behalf," he said. "And the sooner this goal is achieved, the sooner our job will be done."

He also said the new U.S. Embassy in Baghdad would set up satellite offices in key cities to work with emerging Iraqi leaders. And U.S. forces, he said, "will be there to help."

As he has previously, Bush described the U.S. mission in Iraq as the start of a larger effort to spread democracy -- and with it, peace -- through the Middle East. "We believe that freedom can advance and change lives in the greater Middle East, as it has advanced and changed lives in Asia and Latin America and Eastern Europe and Africa."

Voicing another theme he has used consistently, Bush said the fight in Iraq has become the defining struggle against terrorism. "This would be a decisive blow to terrorism at the heart of its power, and a victory for the security of America and the civilized world," he said. Describing a clash of good against evil, he said: "We will persevere and defeat this enemy and hold this hard-won ground for the realm of liberty."

The speech, the first of several high-profile addresses Bush will give as June 30 approaches, comes as his political standing and public support for the war have fallen in tandem.

Sen. John F. Kerry (Mass.), the president's Democratic challenger, said in a statement that Bush "laid out general principles tonight, most of which we've heard before." He added: "What's most important now is to turn these words into action by offering presidential leadership to the nation and to the world."

Bush's choice of the War College for the address underscored the difficulty he faced in convincing Americans that he was pursuing the correct strategy in Iraq. The War College, the Army's highest-level educational institution, has published multiple studies that have been critical of Bush's Iraq policy. The president delivered his speech in a gymnasium once used by Olympic athlete Jim Thorpe. About 450 military brass, with ribbons on their chests, crowded into the warm, flag-festooned hall for Bush, who was making the first visit by a sitting president to the Carlisle Barracks since George Washington.

Bush did not answer the central question of exactly who would take over power in Iraq in a little more than a month. A U.N. envoy, Lakhdar Brahimi, is expected to announce that in the coming days. The administration has consulted with Brahimi but has left the public announcement to him in hopes that his efforts to balance the interests of Shiites, Sunnis and Kurds would have broader support without U.S. interference.