Bush throws Iraq challenge

Washington/Baghdad: President George W. Bush on Saturday challenged lawmakers sceptical of his new plan to propose their own strategy for stopping the violence in Baghdad.

"To oppose everything while proposing nothing is irresponsible," Bush said.

In a pitch to lawmakers and the American people, he said the United States will keep the onus on the Iraqi government to take charge of security and reach a political reconciliation.

He countered Democrats and his fellow Republicans who argue that Bush is sending 21,500 more US troops into Iraq on the same mission.

"We have a new strategy with a new mission: Helping secure the population, especially in Baghdad," Bush said in his weekly radio address. "Our plan puts Iraqis in the lead."

The president asked for patience from lawmakers who grilled Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Defence Secretary Robert Gates and General Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, when they testified before Congress.

"Members of Congress have a right to express their views, and express them forcefully," Bush said. "But those who refuse to give this plan a chance to work have an obligation to offer an alternative that has a better chance for success."

Bush also downplayed hostility to his blueprint among Democrats and his Republican allies, as some opponents of the US presence in Iraq have threatened to try to withhold spending.

Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Al Maliki on Saturday delivered a lukewarm endorsement of the policy.

"The strategic plan ... represents the common vision and mutual understanding between the Iraqi Government and the US administration," a statement from his office said.