Bush acknowledges he faces 'headwind' on Iraq

updated 9:46 a.m. ET Jan. 17, 2007

WHITE HOUSE - Some Republican lawmakers skeptical of President Bush's Iraq plan have been invited to a White House briefing today.

Bush said in an interview with PBS Newshour Tuesday that his plan for a U.S. troop build-up in Iraq faces a "headwind" with Congress and the public.

He says both are going through a period of "pessimism" and "war-weariness" but his plan still represents America's best chance for success.

Bush also gave his toughest assessment yet of Saddam Hussein's unruly hanging, saying the Iraqis "fumbled" the execution. He says the taunts Saddam endured on the gallows made it look like "kind of a revenge killing." And he says it shows the Iraqi government still "has some maturation to do."

Senate Democrats plan a resolution denouncing the president's plan to send more troops to Iraq, with floor debate to begin next week.

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