WASHINGTON — President Bush offered Monday the most detailed explanation of his plan for moving Iraq from chaos to independence, increasing the pressure on his Democratic rival, Sen. John F. Kerry, to fill in an alternative vision for stabilizing the troubled country.
Bush did not offer any new initiatives -- apart from a largely symbolic promise to tear down Abu Ghraib prison, where American soldiers abused Iraqi prisoners -- or set a date for the withdrawal of American troops.
But he presented, step by step, moves for vesting sovereignty in a new Iraqi government and ending the American-led occupation.
The address clearly seemed aimed at what polls show is one of Bush's principal threats in the election: the growing sense among Americans that he does not have a clear plan for success in Iraq.
In a statement, Kerry dismissed the speech as a rehash of Bush's previous arguments.
"The president laid out general principles tonight, most of which we've heard before," said Kerry, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee. "What's most important now is to turn these words into action by offering presidential leadership to the nation and to the world."
But if anything, some analysts say, Bush's recitation of what he called "the specific steps we are taking to achieve our goals" could increase demands for Kerry to offer more specifics of his own.
Peter Feaver, a Duke University political scientist who studies public opinion on national security, said Bush's speech would "raise the bar" for Kerry and other critics to explain their plans. "It will be hard to identify something in [Bush's speech] that is wrong-headed that will allow a critic to say, here's a better way to do it," he said.
The speech seems unlikely to turn the tide in public opinion on Iraq -- if only because no single address, or even any single event, has shown the power to win lasting backing for the war.
Feaver said Bush probably did not suggest a new direction that would convert those Americans who have "already concluded it is hopeless in Iraq." But he predicted it may help "stabilize" those who "want us to win and believe the U.S. can win," even if they fear America is not succeeding.
Still, Feaver, like other analysts, acknowledges that any gains Bush earns with this speech -- and the five expected in the next few weeks -- are likely to last only if they are reinforced by improvements in Iraq.
