Related Event: Iraq in Transition

US president George W. Bush says he has a military and political strategy for success in the war in Iraq.

He was speaking in his weekly radio address delivered on Saturday.

"Our military strategy is clear, we will train Iraqi security forces so they can defend their freedom and protect their people, and then our troops will return home with the honour they have earned. The political track of our strategy is to continue helping Iraqis build the institutions of a stable democracy."

He added that while there is likely to be more tough fighting in Iraq in the coming months, Americans should have confidence in a positive outcome.

Bush has rejected calls in Congress and elsewhere for him to set a deadline for withdrawing US troops.

In the address Bush tried to encourage public support and allay the concerns of the many Americans who are anxious for the war to end.

Ongoing violence in Iraq, where some 1,700 US troops have already been killed, has taken a political toll on the President and has raised alarm in Congress.

According to a poll from the Associated Press, just over half of Americans now say the United States made a mistake going to war, and almost six in ten say they don't approve of the way Bush has handled Iraq.