"Success in Iraq will help protect the United States in the long run," Bush told reporters after meetings at the State Department. He was flanked by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Vice President Cheney.
Later today, Bush is scheduled to discuss Iraq with a group of experts outside of government.
VIDEO: New course sought
Also on tap this week: A videoconference with military leaders in Iraq, and a visit to the Pentagon to confer with officials there. Bush also meets Tuesday with a Sunni vice president in Iraq's coalition government.
White House press secretary Tony Snow said Bush hopes to outline his revised plan for Iraq in a speech before Christmas, but "it's not locked down."
"It's something we would like to see, but I'm not going to promise it," Snow said.
The meetings are updates on an internal administration review that includes the State Department and Pentagon, Snow said. The effort is being coordinated by Bush's National Security Council.
The series of meetings also follow a report by the Iraq Study Group, a bipartisan commission that recommended withdrawal of most U.S. combat troops by early 2008.
The study group, led by ex-Rep. Lee Hamilton, D-Ind., and ex-secretary of State James Baker, also recommended a new diplomatic offensive that includes talks with Iran and Syria. The Bush administration has declined to talk with either, citing Iran's nuclear enrichment program and Syria's efforts to destabilize the Lebanese government.
Snow said Bush has not made a final decision on any of the suggestions made to him, but the president would not propose a specific timetable for withdrawal until the Iraq government is able to sustain and defense itself.
"What we are looking for is a better way forward," Snow said.