Special report: U.S. midterm elections

U.S. President George W. Bush said on Saturday that U.S. enemies should not interpret the U.S. midterm election results as a sign of U.S. weakness.

Four days after the midterm elections which saw Democrats take over control of both houses of the U.S. Congress, Bush issued a call for solidarity in his weekly radio address, saying Democrats and Republicans "must put these elections behind us, and work together on the great issues facing America."

"The message of this week's elections is clear: the American people want their leaders in Washington to set aside partisan differences, conduct ourselves in an ethical manner, and work together to address the challenges facing our Nation."

Tuesday's election results were widely interpreted as a public repudiation of Bush administration's policy in Iraq.

Bush also acted swiftly to replace his defense secretary Donald Rumsfeld with former CIA director Robert Gates, who reportedly has sharply criticized the Bush administration's handling of the Iraq war and has made it clear that he would seek advice from moderate Republicans who have been largely frozen out of the White House.

"The elections will bring changes to Washington. But one thing has not changed: America faces brutal enemies who have attacked us before and want to attack us again," Bush said in the radio address. "I have a message for these enemies: Do not confuse the workings of American democracy with a lack of American will. Our Nation is committed to bringing you to justice, and we will prevail."

While both Democrats and the Bush administration has pledged bipartisanship in the aftermath of the Democratic victory in the midterm elections, leaders of the new Democratic majority also sought to put their new political power to use in shaping the debate over Iraq and promised stepped-up Congressional oversight of the war and a resolution demanding a schedule for reducing the number of troops there, U.S. media reported.

Editor: Yan