Washington ? President Bush on Thursday assured Iraqi President Jalal Talabani that he is “fully committed” to aiding the Iraqi government and dispatched a top aide to Baghdad to help leaders there make good on their promises.

Talabani, whose visit to the United States has included medical treatment at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., looked hearty as he sat in the Oval Office and defended his country’s progress.

Bush signed a war spending bill last week that threatens to withhold U.S. aid dollars for Iraq if Baghdad fails to make progress on political and security reforms. The legislation does let the president waive that restriction. To strike a deal with Congress, the White House allowed benchmarks to be included after initially insisting on a clean spending bill.

Talabani said Iraq remains committed to gradually taking control of its own country – allowing U.S. troops to leave – after Iraqi forces are fully trained. There was no mention of when that would happen.