WASHINGTON, Dec. 31 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President George W. Bush said Sunday that the administration will advance the security of the country and work toward "a free and unified Iraq" in 2007.

    In his New Year message, Bush said defeating terrorists and extremists "is the challenge of our time, and we will answer history's call with confidence and fight for liberty without wavering."

    He said that over the past year, the administration had reached important goals and confronted new challenges, and at the start of the New Year, "we move forward with trust in the power of the American spirit, confidence in our purpose."

    In his message, Bush said that in 2006, the number of jobs steadily increased, wages grew, the unemployment rate dropped, and the goal of cutting the deficit in half was reached three years ahead of schedule.

    The administration "will continue to work to help create more jobs, reduce the deficit, and spread prosperity to all our citizens," and "as we celebrate the New Year, we look with hope to the year ahead and the opportunities it will bring," he said.

    Bush issued the New Year's message the same day when the number of U.S. military deaths in the Iraq war reached 3,000.