President Bush and Britain's Prime Minister Tony Blair are holding a joint press conference in the White House at this hour, where they discussing the war in Iraq.
President Bush said that during Mr. Blair's recent visit to Iraq, Iraqi leaders outlined an aggressive plan to improve security and basic services.
He said Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has vowed to use maximum force to defeat terrorists and vowed to ban illegal militias and armed gangs.
Mr. Bush said the violence in Iraq has been difficult for the civilized world to comprehend, but he still believes the decision to remove Saddam Hussein was correct.
The president said that with the creation of the new Iraqi government, terrorists are now fighting a free and constitutional government.
Mr. Blair's two-day visit comes as both he and Mr. Bush are under pressure to withdraw troops. Both men have also had their political fortunes decline, in part because of Iraq, which has been wracked by insurgent and sectarian violence since
the U.S.-led invasion in 2003.
