US/Iraq: President Bush said yesterday he understood that unrelenting violence in Iraq has shaken Americans' confidence, but pledged the US would not abandon the country as the fourth post-invasion year begins.
In a series of speeches Mr Bush is trying to convince an increasingly sceptical public that he has a winning strategy for Iraq amid widespread concerns that sectarian violence is turning into civil war.
Speaking to the City Club of Cleveland, he sprinkled his characteristic optimism with a more sombre description than usual of the situation, saying that Iraq remained an uphill battle three years after the US-led invasion.
"The situation on the ground remains tense. In the face of continued reports about killings and reprisals, I understand how some Americans have had their confidence shaken. They wonder what I see that they don't."
However, he insisted progress was being made that the media were not covering, and he cited as an example the northern Iraqi town of Tal Afar.
He said US and Iraqi forces have taken the town from al-Qaeda and insurgents, and it was now "a free city that gives reason for hope for a free Iraq".
Mr Bush is struggling with public approval ratings that have dropped to all-time lows as the public becomes increasingly gloomy about US involvement in Iraq where more than 2,300 US troops have died.
He faced some sceptical questioning, including one from a woman who asked him whether he believed the Iraq war was a sign of the Apocalypse.
A Newsweek poll conducted last week showed Mr Bush's approval rating fell to 36 per cent, down 21 points from a year ago, amid discontent about Iraq.
The survey said 65 per cent of Americans were dissatisfied with Mr Bush's handling of the war.
Democrats have seized on the public's growing weariness in a congressional election year to criticise Mr Bush's handling of Iraq.
"We got rid of a brutal dictator. And that's good. But we may be on the verge of trading him for chaos and a new terror haven in the Middle East. That's a bad bargain for America's security," said Senator Joseph Biden of Delaware, the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
He called on Mr Bush to be more involved in getting European, Chinese, Russian and other world leaders to put pressure on Iraqi sects to unite, and said the president needed to take a "risk" and convene a summit to pressure warring Iraqi factions to create a unity government.
Mr Bush has repeatedly said that US forces will not pull out until Iraqi forces are able to take over security.
"But it's important for the Iraqis to hear this: the United States will not abandon Iraq.
"We will leave Iraq, but when we do, it will be from a position of strength, not weakness." - (Reuters)