President Bush sets out on a five-day trip today (Friday) to Ireland and Turkey, looking to build an international consensus on Iraq.
Mr. Bush attends a U.S.-European Union summit in Ireland on Saturday and a NATO summit in Turkey that begins on Monday.
U.S. National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice says the president will challenge NATO to help train Iraqi security forces, telling allies that the mission of the alliance is to spread freedom.
In an interview with Irish (RTE) television Thursday, Mr. Bush rejected the idea the world is less safe because of his policy in Iraq. He said he would not have made the decision to go to war in Iraq, if he did not think the world would be better.
Information for this report is provided by AFP, Reuters and AP.