In a prime-time speech Monday night President Bush outlined a plan to install democracy in Iraq, and in his words, "hold this hard-won ground for the realm of liberty."
The speech at 8 p.m. Eastern Time at the Army War College in Pennsylvania, sought to reassure Americans after weeks of bloodshed and turmoil.
In the address, the president unveililed a five-point plan to inaugurate Iraqi self-rule. It included handing power to a caretaker government next month, bolstering security, rebuilding Iraq's infrastructure, enlisting other countries in a multi-national peace force and holding free elections by January.
According to excerpts released ahead of time by the White House, Bush maintains two visions are battling in Iraq: one filled with "hope," the other leading to "tragedy."
Bush says his vision aims not only to "defeat an enemy" but to "give strength to a friend, a free representative government."
