President George W. Bush last night rejected any early US pullout from Iraq and said the best way to honour those killed in Iraq was to fight the insurgents and train Iraqi troops.
He insisted progress was being made in Iraq despite the grim news that 21 US soldiers had been killed in three days in Iraq, including 14 yesterday in the deadliest roadside bomb attack since the war began.
"We're at war. We're facing an enemy that is ruthless. If we put out a (pullout) timetable, the enemy would adjust their tactics," he said in a speech in a Dallas suburb.
President George W Bush
Those killed in Iraq and Afghanistan, he said, "have died in a noble cause and a selfless cause.
"Their families can know that American citizens pray for them. And the families can know that we will honor their loved one's sacrifice by completing the mission, by laying the foundations for peace for generations to come," Mr Bush said.
He said he had a "strategy for success in Iraq" by hunting down insurgents, training Iraqis to provide for their own security and helping Iraqi political leaders write a constitution and prepare for elections.
Mr Bush spoke on the first day of a 33-day break from Washington, to be spent mostly on vacation at his Texas ranch, his 51st visit there since taking office in 2001.
Some members of Congress have been pressing for a date for a US pullout, and Pentagon officials have talked about the possibility of a reduction in forces in Iraq by next spring or summer.
Mr Bush said US troops would be pulled out "as soon as possible, but not before the mission is complete".