US President George W Bush, in a speech ahead of upcoming mid-term elections, has told US voters that 'we're winning and we will win' in Iraq.
The build-up to the 7 November elections has been dominated by criticism of the US government's handling of the war.
In the speech at the White House, Mr Bush said he would not put 'unbearable pressure' on Iraq's leaders to end the bloodshed.
He told the US public that US forces would stay the course in Iraq, but with adjusted tactics to confront what he described as 'a changing enemy'.
Fears over the lack of progress in Iraq has become a key concern for voters in mid-term elections, driven by a mounting US death toll that has claimed 90 US military lives so far in October.
Claiming the situation in Iraq was vital to US security, Mr Bush said Iraq's government had agreed to a 'schedule' of political and security steps aimed at forging a united, stable democracy.
The US President also voiced qualified confidence in Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, saying the US would support him 'as long as he continued to make tough decisions'.
However, Mr Maliki has distanced himself from the US-announced 'timeline' to end sectarian violence.
He told a press conference that the Iraqi government did not believe in a timetable and said that it would not have one imposed upon it.
