WASHINGTON, Dec 29: US President George W. Bush said a meeting on Thursday with his national security team has helped him in “coming to closure” on Iraq but he did not disclose his plans.

The White House has said earlier that the president will announce his new strategy for Iraq in January but has not given a specific date.

Earlier Thursday, Mr Bush met his senior military and civilian advisors at his Texas ranch as part of consultations to build a new Iraq strategy. Vice President Dick Cheney, new Defence Secretary Robert Gates, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Peter Pace and National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley, attended the meeting.

Mr Bush said the consultations were an “important part of coming to closure on a way forward in Iraq that’ll help us achieve our objective.”

Mr Gates and Gen Pace returned from a fact-finding mission to Iraq earlier this week. This was Mr Gates first visit to Iraq since he replaced the former Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, one of the key policy-planners, who is blamed by many in Washington for leading the United States to a war it cannot win.

“They provided firsthand information,” said Mr Bush who also said he still believes that the US can achieve its objective of turning Iraq into “a country which can govern itself, sustain itself and defend itself.”

The Bush administration announced earlier this week that it will send up to 3,300 soldiers to the region in early January.

That decision follows a recent report commissioned by the White House, which urged a temporary build-up of troops to quell increasing violence in Iraq.

The recommendations of the report, prepared by the Iraq Study Group which the president intends to adopt are still unknown. Among dozens of suggestions, it urged dialogue with Iran and Syria -- which has already been rejected.

Briefing reporters after a closed-door meeting with his national security team, Mr Bush said he has got more consultations to do before he can “talk to the country about (his) plan” for Iraq.

Meanwhile, he said, the United States would continue to work with the Iraqi government and he will also continue to talk to the US Congress, which is now dominated by the opposition Democrats who want him to withdraw American troops.

“Key to success in Iraq is to have a government that’s willing to deal with the elements there that are trying to prevent this young democracy from succeeding,” said Mr Bush.

Talking about the need to consult the US lawmakers, the president said: “I fully understand it’s important to have both Republicans and Democrats understanding the importance of this mission.”

Mr Bush said that his team and he were making “good progress in coming up with a plan that we think will help us achieve our objective.”

Although he did not outline his plan, Mr Bush said as he thinks about his plan, “I always have our troops in mind. There’s nobody more important in this global war on terror than the men and women who wear the uniform and their families.

“People always ask me about a new year resolution. My resolution is that they will be safe and that we will come closer to our objective.”