President Bush says there will be no timetables for withdrawing American troops from Iraq. Mr. Bush met with Iraqi Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari at the White House on Friday, at what he called a "critical moment."
At a joint press conference, he said progress in Iraq is not going to be easy in the face of a deadly insurgency. Mr. al-Jaafari thanked the American people for standing beside the Iraqi people, and said "this is not a time to fall back." The two leaders discussed Iraqi efforts to draft a new constitution and to train the country's own security forces. A number of U.S. lawmakers, including some from Mr. Bush's Republican party, have called for setting a timeline for beginning a withdrawal of American troops from Iraq.