US President George W. Bush will deliver a speech today that his officials say will outline a clear strategy for Iraq's future and show the world he is in command of the situation.
The volatility of Iraq was underlined on Sunday when US forces and Iraqi soldiers began a major offensive against Shia militiamen, killing about 20 in one raid on a mosque and bombing other positions around the holy city of Najaf.
Mr Bush is seeking re-election in November, but the mounting US death toll in Iraq contributing to his lowest opinion poll ratings. Even close US allies have demanded clarity on a planned handover of power to Iraqis on June 30th.
The major issue for Mr Bush when he speaks at the US Army War College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, is how to convince his audience that he can end the violence in Iraq and deliver his long-stated objective of establishing a democracy.
Opponents at home and abroad have accused him of leading the United States into a Vietnam-style quagmire.
His task has been made more difficult by anti-American feeling whipped up in the Arab world by a scandal in which US soldiers subjected naked Iraqi prisoners to sexual, religious and other humiliating abuses.
Close allies such as Italy and Poland, who have contributed troops to US-led forces in Iraq, have urged Mr Bush to give Iraqis real power on June 30th, as have members of the US-appointed Iraqi Governing Council.
But US generals have warned they expect an upsurge in violence after the handover, and Mr Bush has conceded Washington will have to keep a large force in Iraq until new Iraqi forces can cope on their own.