Bush Presents Plan to Win Iraq War

President Bush speaks at the Brown Palace Hotel in Denver, Tuesday, Nov. 29, 2005, during a $1,000 a plate fund-raiser for Rep. Marilyn Musgrave, R-Colo. (AP Photo/Todd Heisler, Pool) (Todd Heisler - AP)

At the time, an anticipated cascade of Democratic endorsements for Murtha's position did not materialize, as Democrats cautiously waited to see the proposal's impact. In the ensuing days, the Democratic leadership came under criticism from its activist base for timidity. Aides scheduled a news conference expecting Pelosi later to simply criticize the president's Iraq speech, but she announced yesterday morning she would endorse Murtha's resolution.

Tomorrow, Pelosi will join Murtha in Boston at a Democratic fundraiser. And leadership aides say that when Congress returns from its Thanksgiving recess, they expect that dozens more Democrats will support Murtha's proposal.

Not all Democrats were critical of Bush. Sen. Ken Salazar (Colo.) said the speech was "a step in the right direction, and it begins to address the Senate's call for a successful exit strategy."

Republicans, meanwhile, were supportive, saying Bush had pointed the way to victory. "The president clearly and concisely laid out a plan for success in Iraq," said Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.).

In his remarks, Bush continued to equate the war in Iraq with the nation's larger battle against terrorism. He acknowledged that those fighting the United States are largely Iraqi, but added that the most lethal among them are foreign fighters bent on targeting Americans everywhere.

"This is an enemy without conscience, and they cannot be appeased. If we were not fighting and destroying this enemy in Iraq, they would not be idle," he said. "They would be plotting and killing Americans across the world and within our own borders."

Although he exuded a determined optimism, Bush did not express the unbridled confidence that he demonstrated when he addressed Naval Academy graduates here just over six months ago. Then, he triumphantly declared: "We are winning the war on terror."

Bush acknowledged that training Iraqi troops has proved to be painstaking, marked by success and failure as the U.S.-led coalition has had to shift its emphasis from training troops to fight an external enemy to an internal one.

Still, he said, a security force with some units that once fled from battle is making progress. He said there are more than 120 Iraqi army and police battalions with 350 to 800 men each combating the insurgency. Forty of those units, he said, are capable of taking the lead in combat operations, with U.S. support. The Iraqis are even operating a small air force and navy, he said.

Bush brushed off critics who say that only one Iraqi battalion is capable of working without any outside help. "To achieve complete independence, an Iraqi battalion must do more than fight the enemy on its own," he said. "It must also have the ability to provide its own support elements, including logistics, airlift, intelligence, and command and control through their ministries. Not every Iraqi unit has to meet this level of capability in order for the Iraqi security forces to take the lead in fighting against the enemy."

Bush cautioned that victory will require continued sacrifice. He became emotional as he read a letter left on the laptop computer of Marine Cpl. Jeff Starr, who was killed while fighting in Ramadi this year.

"If you're reading this, then I've died in Iraq," Bush read, his voice cracking. "I don't regret going. Everybody dies, but few get to do it for something as important as freedom. It may seem confusing why we are in Iraq, but it's not to me. I'm here helping these people, so they can live the way we live."

Staff writer Jonathan Weisman contributed to this report.