US President George W. Bush defended on Monday his polices on Iraq, claiming that the Iraqi conflict will be won despite the efforts of "cold-hearted killers" to derail the US policy.

"We will complete the mission, and the world will be better off for it," Bush told reporter after meeting with European Union leaders.

In his remarks Bush attached importance to training Iraqi troops to defend their country. "More and more Iraqis are becoming battle-hardened and trained to defend themselves. And that's exactly the strategy that's going to work," he said.

The United Stated has deployed some 140,000 troops in Iraq.

More than 1,700 US military personnel have been killed in Iraq since the war started in March 2003, according to figures released by the Pentagon last week.

Recent polls have shown a majority of Americans want to see at least a partial withdrawal of US forces in Iraq and the support for the Iraq efforts is declining in the United States.

Some lawmakers in the US Congress are pushing for a date certain when troops would begin withdrawing.

Source: Xinhua