"I think that the notion of a brief period of consolidation and evaluation probably does make sense," Gates told reporters after a two-hour meeting with US commander in Iraq General David Petraeus.

"I must say, in my own thinking, I am headed in that direction as well but one of the keys is how long is that period and what happens after that," Gates said.

"It still has to be determined and decided by the president."

Gates arrived in Baghdad on Sunday on a surprise visit which he said was to assess security and political progress in Iraq.

He held talks with Iraqi leaders on Sunday night and was on Monday meeting with US military commanders in Baghdad, including Petraeus's number two Lieutenant General Raymond Odierno.

The main focus of the talks is the drawdown of troops, officials said.

The 157,000-strong US force in the insurgency-wracked country is currently on track to come down from 19 brigades to 15 by July, a reduction of at least 20,000 troops plus another 7,000 to 10,000 members of support units, according to military commanders in Iraq.

Petraeus is supposed to make recommendations in April on US force levels for the second half of the year.

Gates has previously expressed hope that the drawdown can continue to about 10 brigades or about 100,000 troops at year's end.

Petraeus last month suggested in an interview with CNN that he will ask for a pause in the drawdown to assess whether security can be maintained with fewer troops.

It is not clear how long a pause Petraeus has in mind, but reports have varied from 30 to 90 days.

"I had a good meeting with General Petraeus; we met for about two hours talking about his evaluation, I feel a lot smarter now," Gates said.

"We have a process in place, as we indicated before General Petraeus will make his recommendations in March to the president and Central Command and the Joint Chiefs will make their recommendation and I will make my recommendation."

He said his dinner with Petraeus and the Iraqi leadership Sunday night had been "useful".

"(We had) a wide ranging conversation about legislation under way, about the Status of Forces agreement, about successes that have been enjoyed in here," he said.

"The situation in Iraq continues to remain fragile but the Iraqi people have the oppportunity to build a better, more prosperous future.

"What I have seen change here since a year ago is pretty remarkable. Those early months were tough, casualties were high... what a difference you've made: Al-Qaeda (is) routed, insurgents coopted, and levels of all kinds of violence reduced."

Last week, Gates said the United States would make no commitments to the defence of Iraq in the Status of Forces Agreement Washington is discussing with the Baghdad government.

In an interview on Sunday, US President George W. Bush acknowledged the United States would seek a military presence in Iraq for "years" but pledged he would not establish permanent bases.

Bush brushed aside concerns expressed by critics that a ould commit future US presidents to a long-term deployment in Iraq.

"We won't have permanent bases," Bush told Fox New television.

Gates arrived in Iraq shortly before the one-year anniversary of a US troop surge designed to improve security in Baghdad, although the country continues to battle a deadly insurgency.

Underscoring the continued violence, more than 40 people were killed in car bombings, mortar attacks and shootings across Iraq on Sunday.

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