WASHINGTON, 1 December 2005 — In a major policy address meant to rally US support for the war in Iraq, President George Bush said setting an “artificial deadline” to withdraw US forces from Iraq was not a plan for victory.

Addressing cadets at the US Naval Academy in Annapolis yesterday, Bush outlined in what his administration said was the first in a series of four speeches his Iraq strategy that he plans to give before the Dec. 15 elections in Iraq.

The president outlined gains made by Iraqi security forces, both in training and in on-the-ground success, but said US forces would not leave Iraq until US military commanders determine the country can defend itself.

Bush said setting such a deadline “would send a message across the world that America is weak and an unreliable ally” and would invite additional attacks on the United States. “By fighting these terrorists in Iraq, Americans in uniform are defeating a direct threat to the American people.”

Ahead of the speech, the White House released a lengthy 35-page document entitled “National Strategy for Victory in Iraq,” on its website, www.whitehouse.gov.

Facing growing doubts about his war strategy, Bush said Iraqi troops are increasingly taking the lead in battle but “this will take time and patience.”

The US military presence in Iraq is set to change, as more cities were delivered to Iraqi control, Bush said, American forces would concentrate on training the Iraqis and “hunting down” what he called high value targets, a reference to the Al-Qaeda leader in Iraq, Abu Musab Al-Zarqawi.

He did not say that the terrorists now in Iraq had anything to do with the 2001 terror attacks in the United States, but he powerfully linked the two, saying they “share the same ideology.”

Turning to criticism at home, Bush said, “Some are calling for a deadline for withdrawal. The many advocating an artificial timetable for withdrawing are sincere. But I believe they’re sincerely wrong.

“These decisions about troop levels will be driven by the conditions on the ground in Iraq and the good judgment of our commanders. Not by artificial timetables set by politicians in Washington.”

Perhaps the most emotional moment in the speech came when he said: “... To all who wear the uniform, I make you this pledge, America will not run in the face of car bombers and assassins so long as I am your commander in chief.”

Recent polls show Bush’s popularity at the lowest level of his tenure amid ongoing violence in Iraq and a mounting death toll for US troops.