Embattled President George W. Bush yesterday sought to defuse worries about his Iraq war strategy, but warned there would be violence there “for many years” and refused to set a date for a US pullout. Striking a defiant tone in the face of drooping popularity and mounting criticisms at home, Bush fired back at those who have urged him to set a timetable for progress in Iraq and for bringing US forces home.

“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,” he charged.

The speech was the first in what aides said would be a series, ahead of Iraq’s December elections, laying out progress in Iraq as well as the strategy for the way forward on the political, economic, and security fronts.

Bush, speaking to a friendly audience at the US Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, took pains to praise Iraq’s fledgling security forces in the first of a series of speeches aiming to reassure the increasingly wary US public.

“Many advocating an artificial timetable for withdrawing our troops are sincere, but I believe they’re sincerely wrong. Pulling our troops out before they’ve achieved their purpose is not a plan for victory," he charged.
"Victory will come when the terrorists and Saddamists can no longer threaten Iraq’s democracy, when the Iraqi security forces can provide for the safety of their own citizens, and when Iraq is not a safe haven for terrorists to plot new attacks on our nation," he said.

Meanwhile, US Senator Hillary Clinton has joined a chorus of Democratic lawmakers calling for US troop reductions in Iraq beginning next year, but linked a withdrawal on the success of upcoming elections there.