Iraq is a troublesome issue for Bush, with voters worried about the violence and deaths and doubting that Bush has a strategy to deal with the problems.

Bush's credibility has been strained by the U.S. failure to find any weapons of mass destruction, whose purported existence was the foundation for the U.S. rationale to invade.

Bush, campaigning by bus in Minnesota, did not mention the pessimistic assessments of the newly disclosed intelligence report, which came to light amid a surge of attacks that has killed more than 200 people since last weekend.

"In Iraq, there's ongoing acts of violence," Bush said. "This country is headed toward democracy. There's a strong prime minister in place. They have a national council. And national elections are scheduled for January. It wasn't all that long ago that Saddam Hussein was in power with his torture chambers and mass graves. And today, this country is headed towards elections. Freedom is on the march."

His comments were in line with the generally upbeat tone of his remarks on the campaign trail. "We will help new leaders to train their armies, and move toward elections, and get on the path of stability and democracy as quickly as possible," Bush told the Republican convention early this month. "And then our troops will return home with the honor they have earned."

The Democratic Party, in a new television ad attacking Bush's credibility, asked, "How can you solve problems when you won't even admit they're there?" The ad shows Bush on the deck of an aircraft carrier declaring an end to major combat in Iraq under a "Mission Accomplished" banner in May 2003.

"The president has made very clear that the stakes are high," said Bartlett. "If there is a failed state in Iraq it would embolden our enemy and it would have huge consequences for the region."

He said the intelligence report "was not something that altered the strategy but reinforced the need to make sure that we have the resolve to see it through."