Military News

Bush Outlines Iraq Strategy on National Television

Voice of America News

May 24, 2004 - President Bush has outlined his strategy for the transfer of political power in Iraq, but warned that insurgents will likely become more active as the June 30 handover approaches.

During a speech late Monday, Mr. Bush vowed to "defeat" insurgents in Iraq. Mr. Bush also outlined steps being taken to help Iraq "achieve democracy and freedom."

He says those steps include handing over authority to an interim Iraqi government and encouraging more international support in Iraq.

The president says the plan also involves training an Iraqi security force, rebuilding the country's infrastructure, and moving towards elections by the end of January 2005. He adds that because of recent violence, the troop level in Iraq will remain unchanged after the transfer of power.

He also promised to demolish the notorious Abu Ghraib prison as a symbol of Iraq's new beginnings. He said the Americans will fund a new maximum security prison.

The address - delivered at the Army War College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania - is the first of five weekly speeches on Iraq before the June 30 handover of power.

It comes hours after the United States and Britain introduced a draft U.N. resolution endorsing sovereignty for an interim Iraqi government.

The resolution would also give a U.S.-led multinational force a mandate to remain in Iraq for one year, but it does not give an expiration date for the force.

The diplomatic push comes at a time of decreasing support both at home and abroad for U.S. policies in Iraq.

A poll released today by CBS news indicates Mr. Bush's overall job approval rating is now at the lowest point of his presidency, with 41-percent of those polled saying they approve of the job he is doing.

The poll also says that as concern about the situation in Iraq grows, 65 percent now say the country is on the wrong track. It says this is the highest number ever recorded since CBS began asking this question in the mid-1980's.

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