Bush launches PR offensive on Iraq

WASHINGTON - With approval ratings flagging, and growing concern about Iraq's conflict spiraling into a civil war, President Bush launched a new public relations drive Monday to bolster support for the U.S. presence there, saying, "We will not lose our nerve."

In a speech at George Washington University in the capital, Bush delivered the first in a series of planned speeches aimed at convincing Americans he has a strategy for victory, nearly three years after the U.S.-led invasion.

The president detailed progress in training Iraq's military and police forces, and discussed ongoing efforts to counter the use of improvised explosive devices, or IEDs, that have killed hundreds of U.S. soldiers and of Iraqis.
In the address, Bush called on Iraqis to embrace compromise as they negotiate a new unity government and asked Americans to show patience amid "images of violence and anger and despair."
The situation in Iraq is still tense," Bush said in the first of a new series of speeches aimed at building support for the U.S. goals there.