The United States will accept only victory in the war against Iraq, President George W Bush said on Saturday.

"To meet this objective, we must give our armed services the support and resources they require," he said in his weekly radio address.

"I have asked Congress for a nearly $75 billion wartime supplemental appropriations bill," he said.

The supplemental will also provide funds to reconstruct Iraq and help protect the US "in this time of high alert", the president said.

Bush said that the US military is doing its best and the nation has the responsibility to support it.

He said: "American and coalition troops have continued a steady advance, and are now less than 50miles from Baghdad.

"In recent days, we have cleared mines from the water and taken control of a key port city, to allow humanitarian aid to begin flowing into the country. We have secured more than 600 oil wells and have begun putting out the few oil well fires set by the enemy. Our efforts to protect the wealth that belongs to the Iraqi people are paying off.

"We have prevented the dictator from launching missiles from key sites in western Iraq. We are now fighting the most desperate units of the dictator's army. The fighting is fierce and we do not know its duration, yet we know the outcome of this battle:  The Iraqi regime will be disarmed and removed from power. Iraq will be free."

During the last week the world has seen "firsthand the cruel nature of a dying regime", Bush said.

In areas still under its control, the regime continues its rule by "terror".

On the alleged atrocities attributed to the Iraqi regime, the president said, "Prisoners of war have been brutalised and executed. Iraqis who refuse to fight for the regime are being murdered. An Iraqi woman was hanged for waving at coalition troops.

"Given the nature of this regime, we expect such war crimes, but we will not excuse them. War criminals will be hunted relentlessly and judged severely."