Mr. Bush, appearing somber and at times reflective during a news conference to wrap up the year, conceded that “2006 was a difficult year for our troops and the Iraqi people.”

But after a month in which he has been under intense pressure to change course in Iraq — from Democrats and the bipartisan Iraq Study Group, whose report implied he should reframe his goals away from democracy and victory and toward mere stability — the president showed no indication that he is inclined toward such a shift.

“Victory in Iraq is achievable,” Mr. Bush said, addressing reporters in the ornate Indian Treaty Room across the street from the White House, in an historic office building once occupied by the Navy. He went on: “The fact that there is still, you know, unspeakable sectarian violence in Iraq, I know that’s troubling to the American people. But I don’t believe most Americans want us just to get out now.”

Responding to a question about a remark he made in an interview published today in The Washington Post — that America is not winning — he said, “I believe we are going to win. I believe that — and, by the way, if I didn’t think that, I wouldn’t have our troops there. That’s what you got to know. We’re going to succeed.”

But declined to make predictions about 2007 other than to say that the war “would require difficult choices and additional sacrifices because the enemy is merciless and violent.”

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