Bush repeated his resolve to see that the June 30 date is met, saying to do otherwise would lead Iraqis to feel betrayed and "those in Iraq who trade in hatred and conspiracy theories" to gain strength.
Senator John Kerry, the likely Democratic party candidate in the presidential election, said the president failed to explain how he would stabilize Iraq.
"We need to set a new course in Iraq," the Massachusetts senator said in a statement. "We need to internationalize the effort and put an end to the American occupation. We need to open up the reconstruction of Iraq to other countries. We need a real transfer of political power to the UN."
Even as Bush outlined what he portrayed as a detailed road map to success in Iraq, his appearance was every bit as much about trying to shift public opinion on the US mission.
According to polls, approval of his handling of Iraq among Americans has declined to the mid-40 percent level, and approval for his handling of terrorism has dipped into the mid-50s. Growing numbers of people say the military action in Iraq has increased rather than decreased the threat of terrorism.
Perhaps most surprising was Bush's switch from a consistently upbeat view of the situation in Iraq to what he acknowledged was a "pretty somber assessment" on Tuesday of the difficulties there. He talked of "tough weeks" and "serious violence," acknowledging that recent developments have been hard on the military and their relatives, on the American public and even on his own administration.
But he would only go so far, rejecting comparisons to the Vietnam War -- which have come mostly from Democrats critical of Bush's Iraq policies -- and insisting that most Iraqis are glad that the US freed their country from Saddam Hussein's rule and are remaining there to help provide security.
"The violence we have seen is a power-grab by these extreme and ruthless elements," he said. "It's not a civil war. It's not a popular uprising. Most of Iraq is relatively stable."
On Sept. 11, Bush said he "oftentimes" asks himself what he could have done differently before the attacks. "There are some things I wish we'd have done, when I look back. I mean, hindsight's easy," he said.
But, he added, "The person responsible for the attacks was Osama bin Laden."
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