Bush speaks about political and economic progress in Iraq

EDs: APNewsNow. Will be led after speech at 10:15 a.m. EDT.

DAYTON, Ohio (AP) -- President Bush is offering a fresh assessment of progress on political, security and economic fronts in Iraq as he weighs a decision on troop levels.

The president planned to use the National Museum of the United States Air Force in Dayton, Ohio, as the backdrop for his address. He is also doing Republican fund-raisers in Ohio and Pennsylvania.

Bush, in the days ahead, is expected to endorse the recommendations of Gen. David Petraeus, the top U.S. commander in Iraq. He has proposed a pause in troop cutbacks to assess the impact of having withdrawn five combat brigades since December. He has argued that it would be reckless to shrink the American force so rapidly that the gains achieved over the past year are compromised or lost entirely.