Bush Holds Strategy Session on Iraq

In this photo provided by the White House, President Bush speaks during a video teleconference with Vice President Dick Cheney, on screen, and military commanders in the Roosevelt Room of the White House, in Washington Saturday, Oct. 21, 2006. Pictured from left are National Security Advisor Stephen Hadley, Deputy National Security Advisor J.D. Crouch, Senior Advisor to the Secretary of State on Iraq David Satterfield, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, Gen. John Abizaid and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Peter Pace. (AP Photo/The White House, Eric Draper) (Eric Draper - AP)

WASHINGTON -- President Bush on Saturday reviewed Iraq strategy with top war commanders and national security advisers, but indicated little inclination for major changes to an increasingly divisive policy.

"Our goal in Iraq is clear and unchanging: Our goal is victory," Bush said in his weekly radio address. "What is changing are the tactics we use to achieve that goal."

Under bipartisan, pre-election pressure for a significant re-examination of the president's war plan, the White House is walking a fine line.

It made sure to publicize the president's high-level meeting on the deteriorating conditions in Iraq _ October already is the deadliest month this year for U.S. troops. At the same time, officials characterized the session as routine and part of a continuing discussion that seeks merely tactical adjustments to _ not a radical overhaul of _ war policy.

"I wouldn't read into this somehow that there is a full-scale push for a major re-evaluation," Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said about the White House meeting. Rice, traveling from Asia to Moscow, stressed to reporters that Bush talks often with his generals in Iraq, and did so recently at Camp David.

The 90-minute session Saturday brought together Gen. John Abizaid, the top U.S. commander in the Middle East; Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld; Bush's national security adviser, Stephen Hadley; and other officials. Participating by videoconference were Vice President Dick Cheney; Gen. George Casey, who leads the U.S.-led Multinational Forces in Iraq; and the U.S. ambassador to Iraq, Zalmay Khalilzad.

The meeting followed up on Bush's half-hour talk on Friday with Abizaid.

The White House did not allow reporters to cover either and provided few details after each, but did release an official photo of Saturday's meeting.

A White House spokeswoman, Nicole Guillemard, said it was the third in a series of consultations Bush has held recently with war commanders, and that similar sessions are planned in the weeks ahead.

"The participants focused on the nature of the enemy, the challenges in Iraq, how to better pursue our strategy, and the stakes of succeeding for the region and the security of the American people," she said.

Recent developments in Iraq and at home have put Bush in a delicate political position ahead of the Nov. 7 elections. With GOP control of Congress at stake, voters are expected to be influenced greatly by the nearly four-year-old war.

The discussion of new approaches comes as public pessimism about the war rises. Almost two-thirds in a Newsweek poll released Saturday said the U.S. is losing ground in its efforts to establish security and democracy in Iraq. An AP-Ipsos poll this month found that just over one-third of Americans surveyed say they approve of Bush's handling of Iraq overall.