US Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama has said security in Iraq has improved but the country's needs must now be addressed politically.
The Illinois senator was speaking in Amman, Jordan, in the first news conference of his trip abroad.
Earlier, Mr Obama held talks with Sunni tribal leaders in the western Iraqi province of Anbar.
After meeting Jordan's King Abdullah, Mr Obama was expected to travel on to Israel.
In Amman, Mr Obama said of Iraq: "There is security progress, but now we need a political solution."
He repeated his goal of withdrawing US combat troops from Iraq within 16 months should he become president.
However, he said he would consult with military commanders to determine how many troops to keep in the country to protect humanitarian operations, to train Iraqis and to conduct operations against al-Qaeda in Iraq.
Mr Obama also condemned an attack carried out by a Palestinian man using a mechanical digger in Jerusalem on Tuesday, and said he would always support Israel in "confronting terrorism".
Withdrawal timetables
In Anbar, Mr Obama met militiamen of the US-backed Awakening Councils movement - a tribal alliance whose members turned against al-Qaeda last year.
Ahmed Abu Risha, head of the Awakening Councils, said tribal chiefs had told Mr Obama at their meeting in Ramadi that any withdrawal of US forces from Anbar should be carried out cautiously.
On Monday, Mr Obama, part of a US congressional delegation, met Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Maliki in Baghdad.
Mr Maliki told Mr Obama and other US senators on Monday that he hoped US troops could be withdrawn from Iraq by 2010, a goal not too distant from Mr Obama's.
Republican presidential hopeful John McCain said that Mr Obama had been "completely wrong" to press for withdrawal timetables, the Associated Press news agency reported.
"When you win wars, troops come home," he said.
