WASHINGTON (AFP) - President George W. Bush said US-led forces had made "substantial progress" towards securing Fallujah, and joined British Prime Minister Tony Blair in vowing that Iraq will be democratic.
Standing side by side in the ornate East Room of the White House, Bush and Blair acknowledged that extremists sowing deadly chaos in Iraq would likely step up attacks aimed at derailing elections set for January.
"As those elections draw near, the desperation of the killers will grow and the violence could escalate. Success of democracy in Iraq will be a crushing blow to the forces of terror and the terrorists know it," said the president.
"I have no doubt at all that, whatever the difficulties, the terrorists and insurgents, supporters of (former dictator) Saddam Hussein may pose for us, that we will overcome those difficulties," said the prime minister.
"Iraq can be that democratic, stable state that the vast majority of Iraqis I know will want to see," added Blair, who was making his first visit here since Bush won a second four-year term in the November 2 US election.
Not quite a week after that hard-fought political contest, US and Iraqi forces launched an all-out assault aimed at capturing or killing insurgents and terrorists who used Fallujah as a base of operations.
"(Iraqi) Prime Minister (Iyad) Allawi authorized military operations to rid Fallujah of Saddam holdouts and foreign terrorists, and American and Iraqi forces have made substantial progress in the last several days," said Bush.
Twenty-two US troops and five Iraqi soldiers have been killed in the fight for Fallujah, and about 600 insurgents have also died, since the battle began on Monday, US and Iraqi officers said Friday.
"The United States and Great Britain have shown our determination to help Iraqis achieve their liberty and to defend the security of the world. We'll continue to stand with our friends and we will finish the job," said Bush.
"We have to complete our mission in Iraq: Make sure that Iraq is a stable and a democratic country," said Blair.
Bush bit hard when a reporter asked whether Blair's steadfast support for the war in Iraq Bush made him the president's "poodle" -- though the prime minister's first reaction was to make light of the charge.
"Don't answer 'yes' to that question. That would be difficult," quipped Blair, who has occasionally been lampooned as showing dog-like deference to the US leader.
"He's plenty capable of making his own mind. He's a strong, capable man. I admire him a lot. You know why? When he tells you something, he means it." sid Bush, who was visibly annoyed.
"That's the kind of person I like to deal with. I'm a lucky person, a lucky president to be holding office at the same time this man holds the prime ministership.
"These are troubled times. It's a tough world. What this world needs is steady, rock-solid leaders who stand on principle, and that's what the prime minister means to me," said Bush.
Asked whether he felt the United States owed Britain something for Blair's support of the war in Iraq, Blair rejected the notion.
"We're not fighting the war against terrorism because we are an ally of the United States. We are an ally of the United States because we believe in fighting this war against terrorism," he said.
"Both of us in different ways, United States and Britain, have a cause to be thankful for this alliance and this partnership, and I believe we should be thankful that it is as strong as it is today," he said.
"And as long as I remain prime minister of our country it will carry on being strong -- not because that's in the interests of America simply or in the interests of the international community, but because I believe passionately it is in the interest of Britain," said Blair.

11/12/2004 - 18:45 GMT - AFP