WASHINGTON — The Bush administration will launch a public relations counteroffensive against critics of the Iraq war today, hoping to stem fast-eroding public support and restore confidence in the president's ability to bring the conflict to a successful conclusion.
In a high-profile address at the U.S. Naval Academy, President Bush will speak in detail about what the administration says is the new strength of Iraqi military forces, even naming individual Iraqis who have contributed to the war effort, a White House official said. Bush will focus on "the ability of Iraqi forces to defend themselves and their country," the primary prerequisite for reducing the number of U.S. troops, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
Bush's speech, with its emphasis on the fighting capabilities of Iraqi troops, is viewed by analysts as an attempt to offer evidence that the administration has a viable plan for Iraq in the face of criticism from Republicans and Democrats alike that the war has been mishandled.
But the experts also see the speech as a signal that the White House has concluded it must take a calculated risk that the Iraqi military can become the main protective force for the nascent government in Baghdad. That assessment is widely disputed by military specialists inside and outside the Bush administration.
Two months ago, Army Gen. George W. Casey, commander of the multinational force in Iraq, told a Senate hearing that only one of the 100 Iraqi military battalions formed over the previous two years was fully trained and equipped and capable of operating independently.
The timing of the administration's move, analysts believe, is based in part on the need to counter domestic political pressure and shore up Bush's sagging poll numbers. But they say it is also motivated by the need to head off two potentially greater risks: a precipitous loss of public and congressional backing that might compel a hasty, politically devastating pullout, and the need to prevent the damage to America's all-volunteer military that could occur with an open-ended commitment in Iraq.
Although Bush's speech constitutes the centerpiece of the White House move, the administration is also responding on other fronts.
A few hours before the speech, the White House is scheduled to release a "National Strategy for Victory in Iraq" that outlines how the administration plans to defeat the insurgency that has gripped large swaths of the country, claimed the lives of many of the more than 2,000 U.S. troops who have died during the conflict and stunted the Iraqi economy.
