Related Event: Iraq in Transition

Tuesday marks the first anniversary of the transfer of power from the US-led coalition to Iraq's interim government. US President George W. Bush will deliver a speech to mark the occasion shortly. CRI Washington correspondent Zhong Qiu has more on how Bush will try to convince a skeptical nation that the war in Iraq is still worth fighting.

Reporter: President George W. Bush will give a prime-time speech from Fort Bragg, North Carolina, where the Army's 82nd Airborne Division is based.

Bush will try to ease Americans' doubts about the mission in Iraq, and outline a winning strategy for the ongoing conflict between the anti-American insurgents and US and Iraqi troops.

President Bush will argue that there is no need to change course in Iraq despite the reported bloodshed day after day by insurgent attacks.

A recent poll shows public doubts about the war is reaching a high point, with more than half saying that invading Iraq was a mistake. More and more Americans are asking for bring our troops home.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Tuesday that Bush will stress the need for patience as Iraq moves toward establishing a permanent democratic government.

"The Iraqis are on a very difficult journey, but when they have established a more democratic and stable Iraq in the heart of the Middle East, it is going to make a tremendous difference to our security because that region, which has for too long had a freedom deficit that reeks of this kind of extremism that we call al-Qaida, I think the President will make that case to the American people."

Bush has said in different occasions that US troops will not leave Iraq until Iraqi security forces are trained and equipped and are capable of defending their own country.

The Bush Administration has declined to give a timetable for troop withdrawal, even though some Democrats and a few Republicans in Congress are supporting a resolution that calls for Bush to start withdrawing troops by October next year.

House Minority Leader, Nancy Pelosi is one of them.

"The American people deserve truth and trust always, but especially in times of war. I hope that the President will level with the American people tonight when he speaks to them, and speak truth about, the ground truth in Iraq and what our strategy for success is to leave there."

White House press secretary Scott McClellan says Bush will talk about insurgents killing innocent people and how stopping the violence "will be a major blow to the ambitions of the terrorists."

Bush also scheduled two and a half hours to meet families of soldiers who have died, as he usually does when he visits military bases.

Zhong Qiu, CRI news, Washington.