Troops kill 17 in Iraq

"The president is very happy ... with the way the prime minister is working," Snow said.

Maliki's aides say he is furious at American pressure on him, and he and fellow Shia Islamist leaders are concerned at what they see as a rapprochement between Washington and the long rebellious Sunni minority dominant under Saddam Hussein.

In a reminder of the sectarian violence, Interior Ministry sources said Baghdad police found 25 bodies, most tortured by death squads, in the past day. It was typical of the bloodshed that Bush has said is trying US patience.

He has vowed to stand by the Iraqi government -- but only as long as it makes "tough decisions," including clamping down on party militias loyal to rival political leaders. Some analysts see White House criticism of Iraqi leaders as preparing the ground for a US troop withdrawal plan, once voting is over.

"We are committed to the partnership our two countries and two governments have formed," Bush and Maliki said in a joint statement after their talks. Bush said last week, however, he would not leave his troops in the crossfire of a civil war.