Democrats Challenge Bush on Iraq (2/2)

In August, John Warner, a former Navy secretary and a Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee, said President Bush should bring some U.S. troops home by the end of the year.

White House officials say the president will make no decisions about the way forward in Iraq until hearing from General Petraeus and U.S. Ambassador Ryan Crocker.

But in remarks meant to rebuild public support for the war, Mr. Bush has made clear that he believes withdrawing troops now would embolden the enemy and make America more vulnerable to terrorist attack.

In his weekly radio address, the president focused on economic proposals meant to ease U.S. mortgage" class="hjdict" word="mortgage" target=_blank>mortgagedefaults, which have disrupted worldwide financial markets.

His plan would make it easier for borrowers holding adjustable rate mortgages to refinance those loans through the government housing authority.

Thousands of American homeowners have fallen behind on their mortgage payments because their adjustable rate mortgages have reset at higher interest rates.

As the mortgage industry goes through a period of adjustment, Mr. Bush says the federal government will help troubled homeowners but not lenders who made unwise loans or consumers who purchased homes beyond their means.