President Bush told the American public that the White House has a plan for "complete victory" in Iraq and the eventual withdrawal of US troops today, but that it would "take time and patience" to achieve.

Responding to increasingly direct criticism of his handling of the war, which has cost 2,100 American lives, President Bush released a 35-page "National Strategy for Victory in Iraq" and gave a speech on the same theme to naval cadets in Maryland.

"I will settle for nothing less than complete victory," said Mr Bush, standing above a large banner which read 'Plan For Victory'. "Victory will come when the terrorists and Saddamists can no longer threaten Iraq’s democracy."

The President said the scale and character of America's military deployment in Iraq depended on the development of Iraq's police and security forces. He acknowledged that there had been "setbacks" in the building of the Iraqi army but insisted that more than 120 Iraqi battalions were now ready to fight without US support.

"Our goal is to train enough Iraqi forces so they can carry the fight and this will take time and patience. And it’s worth the time and it’s worth the effort," said Mr Bush.

He said the increasing ability of Iraqi forces to fight the insurgency would allow America to reduce its military presence in the country. "As Iraqi forces gain experience and the political process advances, we will be able to decrease our troop level in Iraq without losing our capability to defeat the terrorists."

In this morning's strategy document, the White House said that security improvements in Iraq would allow the US military to become "less visible" but still "lethal and decisive, able to confront the enemy wherever it may organize".

The President repeated his refusal to set a timetable for withdrawal from Iraq, and said that any decision bring troops home would be determined "by the conditions on the ground in Iraq and the good judgment of our commanders".

"The many advocating an artificial timetable for withdrawing are sincere," said Mr Bush. "But I believe they’re sincerely wrong. Pulling our troops out before they achieve their purpose is not a plan for victory... To all who wear the uniform, I make you this pledge, America will not run in the face of car bombers and assasins so long as I am your commander in chief."

In a sign of the fractious tone of the war debate in Washington, Mr Bush's speech was "pre-butted" by Harry Reid, leader of the Democrats in the Senate, who accused the President of repeating himself.

Mr Reid issued a statement claiming that Mr Bush had "recycled his tired rhetoric of ’stay the course’ and once again missed an opportunity to lay out a real strategy for success in Iraq that will bring our troops safely home."

Today's speech was the first of four addresses Mr Bush plans to give on the subject of Iraq in the run-up to the election of Iraq's permanent government on December 15. The publication of his Administration's "plan for victory" was, he said, an unclassified version of the official plan for the war.

The document described three phases of victory - short term, medium term and long-term - and three "tracks" for success - the military defeat of the insurgency, the political inclusion of Iraq's disparate factions and the economic recovery of the country.

According to Tim Reid, Washington correspondent for The Times, Mr Bush's speech reflected the altered tone of the debate over Iraq in Washington, which he says has moved clearly to the question of how America can withdraw.

"The main goal of this speech was to persuade the American people that there is a clear plan for winning the war but also, and just as importantly, that there is a detailed plan for how to get the troops home, to show that there is light at the end of the tunnnel," said Reid.

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