Bush Meets with Defense Officials about IEDs in Iraq

President Bush has repeated a call for Syria and Iran not to interfere in Iraq's efforts to develop a democracy.

Mr. Bush made the appeal on Saturday after meeting at the White House with U.S. defense officials about the deadly homemade explosive devices that target American troops in Iraq. The president said today's meeting on improvised explosive devices, or I.E.D.s, was part of a series of briefings from commanders and experts about the situation in Iraq.

Participants included Vice President Dick Cheney, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, and retired General Montgomery Meigs.

In his Saturday radio address, Mr. Bush said the situation in Iraq remains tense, and that improvised explosive devices are the principal threat to American troops and the future of a free Iraq.