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CRAWFORD, Texas - US President Bush worked nearly three hours at his Texas ranch on Thursday to design a new US policy in Iraq, then emerged to say that he and his advisers need more time to craft the plan he'll announce in the new year.

Burdened by low approval ratings on his handling of the war, the president is under mounting pressure to come up with a new blueprint for US involvement in Iraq where the execution of Saddam Hussein - perhaps as early as this weekend - could incite further violence.

US President Bush speaks to reporters after a meeting with members of his National Security team about U.S. military involvement in Iraq, on the president's Central Texas ranch in Crawford, Texas, December 28, 2006. From L-R are: Vice President Cheney, Secretary of Defense Gates, Bush, and Secretary of State Rice. [Reuters]

"We've got more consultation to do until I talk to the country about the plan," Bush said, appearing outside an office building at his ranch.

"Obviously, we'll continue to work with the Iraqi government. The 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."

Vice President Dick Cheney, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and Secretary of Defense Robert Gates stood by Bush as he made his three-minute statement on a dirt road lined with cactus, then turned away, ignoring a reporter's question about the pending execution.

He thanked U.S. troops for their service, yet offered no hint that he was poised to send more of them to war.

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"As I think about this plan, I always have our troops in mind," Bush said.

The president is considering the so-called surge option: increasing the number of troops in Iraq and embedding more U.S. advisers in Iraqi units in hopes of quelling violence to provide a window of opportunity for political reconciliation and rebuilding.

"I think the debate is really coming down to: Surge large. Surge small. Surge short. Surge longer," said Tom Donnelly, a defense and security expert at the conservative American Enterprise Institute. "I think the smart money would say that the range of options is fairly narrow and driven by the situation on the ground in Iraq."

Initially, White House advisers said Bush would announce a plan before Christmas. Then, they said it was more likely after the first of the year. His speech now is to occur in the early weeks of January.

James Carafano, senior fellow at the conservative Heritage Foundation, said that if Bush is delaying his announcement, it has less to do with events in the United States and more to do with the situation in Iraq.

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