No ‘Timetables’ for Iraq Pullout, Bush Promises Visiting Premier

WASHINGTON —  President Bush served notice Friday that he intended to hold fast to his plans for Iraq, promising Iraqi Prime Minister Ibrahim Jafari that “there are not going to be any timetables” for withdrawal of U.S. troops.

In a joint appearance with Jafari at the White House, Bush said he would not be guided by polls showing shrinking American support for the war.

“My job is to set an agenda, and to lead toward that agenda,” he said.

Jafari concurred: “This is not the time to fall back,” he said.

The declarations by the two leaders came as Republican as well as Democratic lawmakers express growing concern about the future of the war, and as some urge the White House to begin making plans to bring it to an end. Their anxiety was underscored by a recent wave of violence in Iraq, including record numbers of car bombings. Late Thursday in Fallouja, a car bombing on a convoy carrying mostly female Marines killed at least two Marines and wounded 13 others. Four troops were missing.

The White House has responded with an aggressive campaign to win public support, including media interviews, a contentious appearance Thursday before Congress by Pentagon officials and plans for a major presidential address Tuesday from Ft. Bragg, N.C., to defend the U.S. mission in Iraq.

Public support for Bush’s handling of the war is at its lowest ever, recent polls show. An Associated Press-Ipsos survey released Friday shows that 53% of Americans believe the war was a mistake, the highest level of opposition found so far. In December 2003, nine months after the U.S.-led invasion, two-thirds of Americans said they agreed with the decision to go to war.

“The way ahead is not going to be easy,” Bush said Friday, dismissing the surveys but acknowledging that the U.S. mission in Iraq was in a “time of testing.”

Insurgents “figure that if they can shake our will and affect public opinion, then politicians will give up on the mission,” he said. “I’m not giving up on the mission.”

Asked for a second time in two weeks whether he agreed with Vice President Dick Cheney’s view that the insurgency was in its “last throes,” Bush did not answer directly. Battling the insurgency is “difficult ... it’s tough work,” he responded. He said the insurgents inflict carnage “because they know that the carnage they create will be on TV, and they know that it bothers people to see death.”

“And it does -- it bothers me, it bothers American citizens, it bothers Iraqis,” he said. “The enemy’s goal is to drive us out of Iraq before the Iraqis have established a secure, democratic government. They will not succeed.”

Bush insisted there was reason for optimism, citing the training of Iraqi forces and signs of progress in developing a national constitution. He expressed optimism that Iraqis could craft a constitution by an Aug. 15 deadline.

U.S. authorities have been pressing the Iraqis to stick to a timetable that includes an Oct. 15 referendum on the new charter and parliamentary elections in December. But the Iraqi officials retain the right to delay the process by six months, pushing Iraqi self-reliance further into the future.

On some issues, the two leaders reached for hopeful signs. Jafari, who took office in early May, said “bombings” had declined recently. However, some attacks, especially car bombings, have reached a new level of ferocity. Both April and May were record months for such bombings, with more than 135 each month. U.S. and Iraqi officials had reported that the total number of car bombings was down this month, but there has been an upsurge in recent days.

Referring to an international conference on Iraq this week in Brussels, Bush said it had shown Iraqis that “the free world is now standing with them.”

However, Iraqi officials in Baghdad have not hidden their disappointment in levels of foreign aid, except from the United States and Britain, and are seeking more.

Welcoming Jafari to his first White House visit as prime minister, Bush praised the 58-year-old physician and devout Shiite Muslim as a “great Iraqi patriot,” a “bold man” and a “frank, open fellow, who is willing to tell me what’s on his mind.”

At the same time, Jafari’s position on the role of Islam in the Iraqi government and public life has been unclear, attracting suspicion from Kurdish and Sunni Iraqis and causing some concern among U.S. officials who would prefer a secular government.

Bush downplayed the dominance of the U.S. in Iraq. An Iraqi reporter asked when the government would begin reconstruction projects, provide jobs to young Iraqis and draw them away from the insurgency. Bush said he didn’t want to be “passing the buck” but referred the question to Jafari.

“You need to ask that to the government,” he said. “They’re in charge. It’s your government, not ours.”

Jafari offered thanks to Americans for their financial support and troops.

“No doubt our people will never forget those who stand beside Iraq, particularly at these terrible times,” he said. “You have given us something more than money -- you have given us a lot of your sons, your children, that were killed beside our own children in Iraq. Of course, this is more precious than any other kind of support you can give.”

By fighting militants in Iraq, U.S. troops are battling a foe they would otherwise face in other places around the world, Jafari said.

He sought to present his government as one that would appeal to Americans, stressing its democratic nature and noting that the ministers in his Cabinet include six “minister ladies.” He said he intended to add one more woman, as deputy prime minister.

Echoing a theme struck lately by Bush administration officials, Jafari listed accomplishments Iraq had achieved despite the doubts of observers.

“People said Saddam would not fall, and he did. They say the elections would not happen, and they did. They say the constitution will not be written, but it will,” Jafari said.

*

Times staff writers Patrick J. McDonnell in Baghdad and Warren Vieth in Washington contributed to this report.