Related Event: Iraq in Transition

Bush was speaking during a meeting with visiting Iraqi Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari on Friday, who also promised victory over insurgents in Iraq.

"There are not going to be any timetables. I have told this to the Prime Minister. We are there to complete a mission and it is an important mission. It doesn't make any sense to have a timetable. You know if you give a timetable you are conceding too much to the enemy."

The Iraqi leader agreed with President Bush; speaking at a joint news conference at the White House he said it was not the time to fall back."

Fielding questions hours after the latest attack on American troops, Bush conceded that it bothers Americans to see scenes of carnage on television.

More than 1,700 American troops have died in Iraq, the majority of them since the end of hostilities aimed at toppling the regime of Saddam Hussein.

There have been more than 450 car bombs in Iraq since the handover of sovereignty last year.