Washington ? Mindful of long-term U.S. interests, military and diplomatic strategists seeking to salvage President Bush’s latest Iraq war plan are beginning to shift gears while buying time for Iraqis to resolve their differences.

Pressure to show results is growing in the U.S., even as more troops arrive.

Adding to the anxiety is the rising American death toll. The military announced Wednesday that gunbattles and roadside bombs killed seven soldiers and two Marines the day before, bringing the total U.S military death toll since the war began to at least 3,432.

The top U.S. commander in Iraq, Gen. David Petraeus, in collaboration with new U.S. ambassador Ryan Crocker, is putting the final touches on a document spelling out in new detail how they intend to implement Bush’s strategy announced in January. Bush ordered an extra 21,500 combat troops to Iraq in hopes that more firepower in Baghdad would tamp down sectarian violence and enable rival factions to coalesce.

The Petraeus and Crocker plan, known in military parlance as a campaign plan, makes what one military officer in Baghdad called course corrections without changing the basic Bush strategy, which was built on the belief that political reconciliation in Baghdad could not happen until better security was established.

Under consideration is a large and rapid increase in the size of the Iraqi army to fill the security gaps that are anticipated once the extra U.S. troops begin to leave, perhaps early next year, according to an official knowledgeable of the planning. There are now about 144,000 in the Iraqi army; any increases would have to be worked out with the Iraqi government, in part because they would have to pay some of the cost.

National Public Radio reported Wednesday that Petraeus and Crocker want to nearly double the size of the Iraqi army.

During the rocky tenure of Petraeus’ predecessor, Gen. George Casey, a greater emphasis was placed on hastening the transition of security, political and economic responsibilities to the Shiite-led Iraqi government, which has battled a Sunni-led and al-Qaida-fueled insurgency.

Petraeus has focused more on identifying hardened sectarians in the political system and security forces and persuading Iraqi leaders to remove them. His new plan also envisions more emphasis on negotiating with elements of the insurgency that are judged to be potentially willing to reconcile, one official said.

Petraeus has said he plans to report to Washington in September on how the Bush strategy is working. One key question then will be whether to reduce U.S. troop levels, which the Pentagon says now stand at 147,000. About another 10,000 troops are scheduled to arrive over the coming month, mainly in the Baghdad area.

The implications of a U.S. failure are grim and extend beyond the politics of a war that, after more than four years of fighting, has drawn most Americans to the view that it was a mistake to begin. Senior civilian and military officials believe the United States has a long-term interest in assuring the stability of Iraq – not just to restore a society that collapsed after the U.S. invasion in 2003, but also to preserve wider U.S. interests.