Washington, May 30: President George W Bush has acknowledged the lawlessness that has gripped Iraq since the fall of Saddam Hussein, but insisted US forces were making progress in the new battle to establish order. Bush did not give a timetable for the end of the US administration of Iraq, but did declare yesterday that it would take time to get the country onto its feet. "A lot of Iraq is improving from the pre-war conditions and that's important to know," Bush said in an interview with European and Arab journalists, ahead of his departure today for a tour of Europe and the Middle East. "Now there is no question there is lawlessness inside of Bagdad and regions north of Bagdad," he added.

"We are dealing with that ... And we are making progress on all fronts," Bush said.

Many Iraqis have complained about the US failure to end widespread criminality in Baghdad and other cities, and about the lack of key services such as water and electricity.


The first chief US administrator in Iraq, Jay Garner, was recently replaced by Paul Bremer in a sign of US concern at events.


"I fully understand the degree of difficulty and that is created by the fact that these people have been enslaved by torturous rulers for many years," Bush said.


"Therefore I don't expect the conditions to improve automatically after 70 days. It's going to take a while."


The President said there was no US "occupation" of Iraq. "I view it as a group of nations, and there are many nations involved in the contribution of help so the Iraqi people are able to establish their own government and have comfortable lives and that it could be a free society." Bureau Report