WisPolitics Budget Blog

President Bush sought to reclaim a public mandate for his Iraq policy Tuesday, telling the American people the war is "vital" to their security and that insurgents there share "the same murderous ideology" as the 9/11 hijackers.

Bush asked for patience with the U.S. strategy, which he described as two-pronged -- with a military component to combat the insurgency and a political effort to build "the institutions of a free society."

"Our strategy can be summed up this way -- as the Iraqis stand up, we will stand down," he said.

As we fight the enemy in Iraq, every man and woman who volunteers to defend our nation deserves an unwavering commitment to the mission and a clear strategy for victory," Bush said as he opened his address at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland.

The plan calls for pursuing three tracks: political, security and economic. The tracks are broken down into eight pillars, including defeating terrorists and neutralizing the insurgency; helping Iraq strengthen its economy; and increasing international support for Iraq.