Oct. 23 (Bloomberg) -- The Bush administration has dropped the phrase ``stay the course'' from discussions about Iraq as a recent surge in violence has forced a change in tactics on the ground and renewed calls in the U.S. for a different approach to the conflict.

President George W. Bush remains committed to the goal of setting Iraq up to govern itself and take responsibility for quelling sectarian strife, Press Secretary Tony Snow said today. Because the administration is flexible about how to achieve those goals, he said, Bush is no longer talking about sticking to one approach.

``It left the wrong impression about what was going on,'' Snow said. ``And it allowed critics to say, `Well, here's an administration that's just embarked upon a policy of not looking at what the situation is,' when, in fact, it's just the opposite.''

Democrats have been repeating the phrase, which Bush has used in speeches and other remarks, in their criticism of the president's policy as they campaign to overturn Republican control of Congress in the Nov. 7 elections. The administration and congressional Republicans are countering by trying to reshape the debate on the war, which polls show is increasingly unpopular with the U.S. public.

Snow and White House Counselor Dan Bartlett stressed that the U.S. is being flexible while staying true to the president's overall strategy.

Flexibility

``It's never been a stay-the-course strategy,'' Bartlett said on CBS's ``Early Show,'' one of five morning news programs where he gave interviews today. ``Strategically, we think it's very important that we stay in Iraq and we win in Iraq.''

Snow also said the U.S. is pressing the Iraqi government to take more responsibility for quelling the sectarian and insurgent violence that has wracked the country, while declining to issue firm deadlines for achieving milestones.

``We're not in the business of issuing ultimatums,'' Snow said.

Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld told reporters at the Pentagon today that U.S. discussions with Iraq's government leaders have been about the general schedule over the next year for Iraqis to assume control in all 18 provinces.

``They have passed over two provinces to Iraqi governance and they are planning to pass over the other 16,'' Rumsfeld said. ``And so the question is, when do you think the Iraqis might be ready to assume those responsibilities?''

There are ``certainly no penalties'' if the dates aren't met, he said.

`Moving Forward'

Snow said the administration has always pursued ``a dynamic policy that is aimed at moving forward, at all times, on a number of fronts,'' he said. Bush hasn't used the phrase ``stay the course'' for at least two months, according to Snow.

Communications strategists working with House Republicans circulated a three-page memo today that advises candidates to stress those same points in their campaigns. It suggests Republicans highlight past statements by military and administration officials that show that the U.S. is adapting to changing military conditions and requiring Iraqi police and security forces to take a more prominent role in combating sectarian violence.

`Winning'

``Winning means helping the Iraqis achieve stability and security and doing it as quickly and effectively as possible in order to bring our troops home,'' the memo states in a section outlining suggested talking points for candidates. ``We continue to work with the Iraqis to do this.''

Bush is under increasing pressure to change his Iraq strategy as casualties mount more than three years after the U.S.-led invasion. At least 81 military personnel have been killed in action this month, the highest total since November 2004. Six soldiers and four Marines were killed since Oct. 21, the U.S. Army said in e-mailed statements.

An independent bipartisan commission established by Congress and headed by former Secretary of State James Baker and former Representative Lee Hamilton plans to make recommendations on U.S. policy in Iraq after the November election.

Britain's army chief, General Richard Dannatt, said Oct. 13 that U.K. soldiers in Iraq are in danger of exhaustion and that they should be withdrawn in ``a year or two or three.''

Election

Senator Joseph Biden of Delaware, the senior Democrat on the Foreign Relations Committee and a frequent critic of the administration's Iraq policy, said a change in Congress may bring a change in Iraq.

The outcome of the election ``will determine if we have any chance of getting the administration off its absolutely, totally failed policy in Iraq,'' Biden said in a conference call with reporters.

Biden said that two Republican senators, who he refused to name, have given him private assurances that they will join a bipartisan effort to force a change in administration policy if Democrats make significant gains in the election.

Bush met two days ago with his military commanders to discuss strategy, after a security clampdown by U.S. and Iraqi troops in Baghdad was met with a surge in sectarian violence.

Bush acknowledged the same day that the situation in Iraq remains difficult. ``As we engage our enemies in their stronghold, these enemies are putting up a tough fight,'' he said in his weekly radio address.

A majority of Americans, 57 percent, say the U.S. should set a deadline for withdrawing its troops from Iraq, according to a Cable News Network poll released today. Forty percent said the troops should stay with no deadline. Bush said last week in an interview with ABC News that he expects U.S. troops will remain in Iraq until after he leaves office in 2009, and he has repeated refused to set any timetable for a withdrawal.

In the CNN poll, 60 percent say that neither side is winning the Iraq war. Twenty percent of those polled said the U.S. and its allies are winning and 18 percent said the insurgents have the upper hand.

To contact the reporters on this story: Richard Keil in Washington at dkeil@bloomberg.net; Demian McLean in Washington at dmclean@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: October 23, 2006 17:20 EDT