W House says conditions will dictate Iraq pullout

WASHINGTON, May 23 (Reuters) Despite optimism triggered by formation of Iraq's unity government, the White House stressed today conditions on the ground in Iraq will dictate when US troops can withdraw.

The statement came as the White House announced that President George W Bush will meet his top Iraq war ally, British Prime Minister Tony Blair, on Thursday.

Blair said yesterday that all foreign troops may be gone from Iraq within four years and and Iraq's new prime minister, Nuri al-Maliki, said his forces could be in charge of most of the country by December.

White House spokesman Tony Snow was careful not to sign on to any timetable, saying ''the conditions on the ground are going to determine when the United States begins doing troop withdrawals and that sort of thing, and that and that alone is going to be the ultimate factor.'' ''We're not going to sort of look at our watches and say, 'Oh, time to go,' because that would be irresponsible,'' Snow said, adding that Washington wants to make sure it has laid the foundation for a ''successful, self-governing, peaceful and stable Iraq.'' Bush and Blair have seen their political fortunes rise and fall on what has happened in Iraq.

They joined forces to warn against the supposed threat from Saddam Hussein's weapons of mass destruction, and when the weapons were not found, have sought to justify the 2003 invasion by saying it is important to bring democracy to a trouble part of the world.

Both leaders are suffering at home over the ongoing violence in Iraq, and the formation of the unity government allows them to declare that there is evidence of progress in Iraq.

Snow said Bush and Blair will talk about a full range of issues, including supporting the new Iraqi government, preventing Iraq from acquiring the means to build nuclear weapons, bringing peace to the Middle East, ending violence in Sudan's Darfur region and promoting free trade.

REUTERS SI KN2055