US:President Bush has admitted for the first time that the United States is not winning the war in Iraq but insisted that victory remained possible and promised not to "abandon" the people of Iraq.
Mr Bush told an end of year press conference that he is considering an increase in the overall size of the US Army and Marines but he said he has yet to decide whether to send more troops to Iraq.
"I will tell you we're looking at all options. And one of those options, of course, is increasing more troops. But, in order to do so, there must be a specific mission that can be accomplished with more troops," he said.
Earlier, the president told the Washington Post that "we're not winning, we're not losing" in Iraq, admitting for the first time that the US is not on course for victory.
Mr Bush's remarks came as defence secretary Robert Gates visited Iraq for talks with military commanders, some of whom oppose a surge in US troop numbers. "We discussed the obvious things. We discussed the possibility of a surge and the potential for what it might accomplish," Mr Gates said.
Advocates of a temporary surge in US forces argue that political progress in Iraq is impossible until security improves and that Iraqi forces are not yet capable of quelling sectarian violence. Some military experts have called for between 15,000 and 30,000 new troops to be sent to Iraq; others advocate doubling the current US force of about 140,000.
The bipartisan Iraq Study Group rejected the idea of a surge, calling instead for all US combat brigades to be withdrawn by early 2008, leaving a substantial number of US trainers embedded within Iraqi units.
Mr Bush said he was considering the Iraq Study Group's recommendations along with other views from within and outside his administration as he prepares to announce a new strategy for Iraq next month.
"I'm not going to make predictions about what 2007 will look like in Iraq, except that it's going to require difficult choices and additional sacrifices because the enemy is merciless and violent. We'll listen to ideas from every corridor. We'll change our strategy and tactics to meet the realities on the ground.
"We'll never lose sight that, on the receiving end of the decisions I make is a private, a sergeant, a young lieutenant or a diplomat who risks his or her life to help the Iraqis realise the dream of a stable country that can defend, govern and sustain itself," he said.
Mr Bush said his inclination to support calls for a bigger US military does not represent a repudiation of the lighter, more agile force advocated by former defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld. "The reason why I'm inclined to believe this is a good idea is because I understand that we're going to be in a long struggle against radicals and extremists. And we must make sure that our military has the capability to stay in the fight for a long period of time," he said.
Mr Bush said it was too soon to predict the legacy of his administration, adding that he was still reading fresh assessments of George Washington.
"My attitude is if they're still analysing number one, 43 ought not to worry about it, and just do what he thinks is right, and make the tough choices necessary. And it's going to take a while for people to analyse mine, or any other of my predecessors, until down the road, when they're able to take - you know, watch the long march of history and determine whether or not the decisions made during the eight years I was president have affected history in a positive way," he said.