WASHINGTON — President George W. Bush on Wednesday defended his decision to put off a change in Iraq policy until next month and rejected some recommendations that he said would ‘lead to defeat.’ After talks with top defense officials at the Pentagon, Bush gave little hint that a big change was in the offing in an Iraq policy that Americans increasingly have doubts about. ‘If we lose our nerve, if we’re not steadfast in our determination to help the Iraqi government succeed, we will be handing Iraq over to an enemy that would do us harm,’ Bush said. He defended his decision to put off a speech to announce his new strategy after some Democrats complained that time was of the essence and a new policy needed to be put in place quickly. He did not say when he would give the speech, but aides said it would be in January. ‘I’m not going to be rushed into making a difficult decision, a necessary decision to say to our troops: ‘We’re going to give you the tools necessary to succeed and a strategy to succeed,” Bush said. He said one reason for the delay was […]