On the same day that the White House released a 35-page "National Strategy for Victory in Iraq," President Bush told a group of midshipmen at the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, that "our freedom and our way of life are in your hands."

During the 45-minute speech in front of a backdrop that said "Plan for Victory," Bush returned several times to his oft-repeated vow to stay in Iraq until the mission is completed, but he also acknowledged the vigorous debate at home over the war, slammed critics who are calling for a timetable for withdrawal, and admitted that the military had stumbled in its initial plan to train Iraqi forces.

"To all who wear the uniform, I make you this pledge," the president said, "America will not run in the face of car bombers and assassins so long as I am your commander in chief." The president spent a large part of the speech giving specifics on how many Iraqi troops are battle-ready and which measures the U.S. is taking to speed up the transition of military responsibility from U.S. troops to the Iraqi army.

"As Iraqi forces gain experience and the political process advances, we will be able to decrease our troop level in Iraq without losing our capability to defeat the terrorists," Bush said. "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."

The major points in "National Strategy for Victory in Iraq" include neutralizing the insurgency while building Iraqi security forces, helping to restore the Iraqi economy, and working to secure a democratic government in Iraq by isolating those loyal to former dictator Saddam Hussein and other terrorist leaders.

"Some critics continue to assert that we have no plan in Iraq except to 'stay the course,' " Bush said. "If by 'stay the course' they mean we will not allow the terrorists to break our will, they're right. If by 'stay the course' they mean we will not permit al Qaeda to turn Iraq into what Afghanistan was under the Taliban -- a safe haven for terrorists and a launching pad for attacks on America -- they're right as well. If by 'stay the course' they mean that we're not learning from our experience or adjusting our tactics to meet the challenges on the ground, then they're flat wrong."

In a rebuttal following the speech, Democratic Senator Jack Reed criticized what he called the president's "rhetoric and laundry list" of accomplishments, asking for more specifics on the question he said all Americans are asking: How can we tell progress is being made and how long will it take? Democratic Senator John Kerry claimed that 45 percent of Iraqis believe it is acceptable to harm U.S. forces and suggested that the presence of U.S. troops in Iraq is what is fueling much of the insurgency.

As he has in the past, the president repeatedly returned to the terror attacks of September 11, 2001, to create a link to the current war in Iraq, saying that the insurgents in Iraq "share the same ideology" as the 9/11 bombers and those who launched recent attacks in London (see [article id="1505331"]"At Least 37 Dead In London Subway Bombings"[/article]) and Amman, Jordan (see [article id="1513402"]"Al Qaeda Claims Responsibility For Jordan Bombings; U.S. Vows To Aid Investigation"[/article]).

After acknowledging that the U.S. military had "learned from earlier experiences" that it needed to change its approach to training Iraqi forces, Bush said more Iraqi forces are stepping forward to lead the fight in the country. He said over the past year, a handful of battle-ready Iraqi battalions has grown to more than 120, with 40 of those taking the lead in the fight and securing various parts of Baghdad and other cities around the country. As those forces take over, Bush said, U.S. troops are free to concentrate more on training and hunting major terrorist targets. He said Iraq now has a small air force and navy and that a military-intelligence school has been established.

The U.S. has increased troop levels to 160,000 from 137,000 in advance of the December 15 elections in Iraq, and Bush said he will send more troops if commanders request them. He did not make any reference to when U.S. troops might begin to come home.

In other developments in Iraq:

Though the pieces are essentially factual, critics said they are one-sided and omit information that might make the U.S. or Iraqi governments look bad. Among the dozens of articles that have run since the effort began this year are ones with titles like "Iraqis Insist on Living Despite Terrorism." The propaganda efforts are occurring even as U.S. officials are "pledging to promote democratic principles, political transparency and freedom of speech in a country emerging from decades of dictatorship and corruption," according to the paper. On Tuesday, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld pointed to the proliferation of "free media" organizations in Iraq as one of the country's great successes since the ouster of Saddam Hussein. Some senior military officers have criticized the practice, arguing that it could destroy the military's credibility and undermine the principles of democracy the U.S. is trying to spread. A military task force has also purchased an Iraqi newspaper and taken control of a radio station over the past year as part of its psychological-operations campaign, though U.S. law forbids the military from carrying out psychological operations or planting propaganda through American media outlets.