WASHINGTON, March 19 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President George W. Bush insisted on Sunday that Iraq is making progress three years after he launched the Iraq war in spite of strong domestic and international objections.

    In remarks to commemorate the third anniversary of the Iraq war, Bush said he called U.S. ambassador to Iraq Zalmay Khalilzad who "informed me of the progress that the Iraqis are making in forming a unity government."

    "I encouraged the Iraqi leaders to continue to work hard to get this government up and running," Bush said.

    Bush insisted that his administration is implementing "a strategy that will lead to victory in Iraq" and "a victory in Iraq will make this country more secure, and will help lay the foundation of peace for generations to come."

    Three years ago, the Bush administration launched the Iraq war on grounds that the Saddam Hussein regime had weapons of mass destruction and ties with the al-Qaida network. Yet none was proved correct thereafter.

    Iraqis have been struggling to form a national unity government more than three months after they held national parliamentary elections in December. Meanwhile, numerous attacks have taken place despite the fact that there are some 140,000 U.S. troops stationed in Iraq.

    Moreover, U.S. casualties in Iraq have been mounting with 2,300 soldiers killed and over 12,000 injured since the war started. Enditem