President Bush on Friday declined to endorse a prediction by Iraq’s new prime minister that Iraqi troops would replace the U.S. military as the nation’s primary security force by late 2007.

“Listen, I want our troops out, don’t get me wrong,” Bush said in an East Room news conference with British Prime Minister Tony Blair. “Politics isn’t going to make the decision as to the size of our force level; the conditions on the ground will make the decision.