US President George W Bush has claimed that a Californian mother who has been protesting outside his Texas home does not represent the views of most military families and that fulfilling demands like hers for withdrawal from Iraq would weaken the United States.
President Bush said he understood the anguish of Cindy Sheehan whose son was killed in Iraq last year. But he said he disagreed with her assertion that US troops should be brought home before more die in a "senseless war."
"I think those who advocate immediate withdrawal from not only Iraq but the Middle East are advocating a policy that would weaken the United States," Mr Bush said.
The president claimed US troops in Iraq are keeping Americans safe and that Iraqis are making progress toward democracy. He urged patience as officials in Baghdad struggle to complete a constitution.
"The fact that they're even writing a constitution is vastly different from living under the iron hand of a dictator," he said.
US President George W Bush
The US president spoke underneath the tall pine trees at the Tamarack Resort, where he is spending two nights away from his ranch.
His visit to the mountain getaway came between two speeches in an attempt to rally faltering public support for the war - one on Monday in Salt Lake City and another today in Nampa, Idaho, that is to be followed by more than two hours of private meetings with relatives of dead soldiers.
He met Sheehan last year at a similar series of meetings with families of the war dead. But Sheehan says there have been developments since then and she has more she wants to say to Bush.
Her vigil in Crawford, Texas, has given momentum to the peace movement, and even some Republicans have said Bush should meet with her. She flew to Los Angeles last week after her 74-year-old mother had a stroke, but she is expected to return to Texas in a few days.
"Well, I did meet with Cindy Sheehan," Bush said. "I strongly support her right to protest. There's a lot of people protesting. And there's a lot of points of view about the Iraq war."
He added: "She expressed her opinion. I disagree with it."
The president spoke a day after the Iraqi parliament missed a second deadline to approve a draft constitution. Iraqi leaders completed a draft and submitted it to parliament by the midnight deadline, but they delayed a vote for three days to give them time to persuade Sunni Arab negotiators to accept it.
Meanwhile, the US president also said Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon had made a tough and courageous decision to withdraw Jewish settlements from the Gaza Strip. He said the next step was to establish a government in Gaza that responds to the Palestinian people.