"We are not making the progress we need to create a democratic Iraq. We need to speed up the training of Iraq military and security forces, so that Iraqis can take responsibility for securing their country, and so our troops can come home.

"Our goal is to create an Iraq that is stable enough for Iraqis to fully secure their own country, and this plan seems to represent the best way forward to make that happen. A secure Iraq means our soldiers can come home, and the President believes that a temporary increase in troop levels is needed to make that happen."