President Bush and British Prime Minister Gordon Brown have spelled out their stances on Iraq as partners in an unpopular war.

Speaking of commitment to Iraq, Gordon Brown said Britain also had 'duties to discharge and responsibilities to keep', adding he was committed to supporting Iraq.

Britain has concentrated its 5,500 troops on the outskirts of Basra and has been withdrawing forces steadily, despite the US troops built-up Brown said more reductions could follow.

Brown and Bush both agreed that the security of Iraq should eventually be managed by the Iraqis alone, after consulting military leaders and studying achieved progress.

The media has repeatedly described Brown's business-like attitude and commented on his lack of praise for Bush personally, even after the US President showered him with compliments, predicting the start of a new chapter in Anglo-US relations.

Brown also avoided agreed to Bush's repeated references to the war against terrorism as an ideological fight.

In describing terrorist threats, however, the differences between the leaders were quite notable with Brown's insistence on Afghanistan as the front line in war on terror and the US choice of Iraq as the center in that fight.