US: US forces in Iraq were making good progress and were winning because the Iraqi people were beginning to see the benefits of a free society, President George W Bush told a news conference from the White House on Thursday.
Mr Bush acknowledged, however, that Iraq faced "hard-nosed killers" who wanted to go back to "the old days of tyranny and darkness, torture chambers and mass graves."
While stating that Iraqi security forces were performing much better, Mr Bush refused to speculate on a timetable for the withdrawal of American troops.
Just hours after he spoke, Iraqi insurgents detonated 10 car bombs in Baghdad in a day of widespread violence which claimed at least 27 lives.
Mr Bush said he spoke on Thursday to new Iraqi prime minister Ibrahim Jaafari and invited him to visit the United States soon.
He said he urged Jaafari, a leading Shia, to reach out to Sunnis and adhere to the August 15th deadline for drafting a new Iraqi constitution.
America's message to the Iraqis, he said, was: "Keep stability; don't disrupt the training that has gone on; don't politicise your military; in other words, have them there to help secure the people."
The president also offered strong support for his beleaguered nominee as US ambassador to the United Nations, John Bolton, saying he was capable and smart and a seasoned diplomat.
Mr Bush called the press conference on the eve of the 100th day of his second term, primarily to promote a new plan for change in social security, which he says is heading for bankruptcy by mid-century.
The plan would involve cutting the benefits of more prosperous future retirees.
He refused, however, to back off his aim of creating private retirement accounts out of social security, an idea that has yet to win majority support across the nation.
He also rejected assertions by some Republican leaders that Democrats who opposed his judicial nominees were not "people of faith".
Referring to his falling poll ratings, Mr Bush said: "You know, if a president tries to govern based on polls, you're kind of like a dog chasing your tail."
On international issues, Mr Bush called North Korean leader Kim Jong-il "a dangerous person" and defended his decision to seek multinational rather than direct talks with Pyongyang over its nuclear weapons plans.
He also expressed disappointment with Russian President Vladimir Putin for his decision to sell anti-aircraft missiles to Syria.