The White House announced Tuesday that President George W. Bush will not present his revised Iraq strategy until the new year, pushing past an earlier informal Christmas deadline. Spokesman Tony Snow told reporters the plan simply was not ready, with Bush still working through practical and tactical questions before committing to a new course.
Bush held a video conference with US military commanders and the ambassador in Baghdad, then met at the White House with Iraqi Vice President Tareq al-Hashimi, the country's senior elected Sunni leader. The meetings followed earlier consultations with Shiite Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki and cleric Abdel Aziz al-Hakim.
Two major polls released this week paint a bleak picture of public sentiment. A USA Today survey found 55 percent of Americans want most troops home within a year, yet only 18 percent believe that will occur. Fewer than one in five respondents trust Bush to recommend the right course in Iraq.
A CBS News/Gallup poll found pessimism about the war at its highest point since the March 2003 invasion, surpassing opposition levels recorded during the Vietnam era. In that survey, 75 percent said they do not trust Bush to manage the conflict, and only 15 percent believed the US would ultimately prevail.
Historical summary. TurkishPress restated this wire report, first published in December 2006, in its own words.