Jerusalem: Americans' skepticism about Iraq will not change until they see progress, but the US will not "pull the plug" on the war, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said.
Rice, at the start of a Mideast trip that brought her to Jerusalem on Saturday, did not detail any backup strategy if US President George W Bush's updated war plan comes up short or if the Iraq government fails to hold up its end.
"We're going to get an opportunity to see whether or not this is working, whether or not the Iraqis are living up to their obligations," Rice said on Friday.
"We're not pulling the plug on Iraq," she confirmed.
Rice said the positive changes in war-torn Iraq will convince Americans who did not support or approve of the way Iraq has been handled by the Bush government.
"What will convince the American people that there's going to be a good outcome here is the changes on the ground," Rice said. "No poll is going to change until there is something to show."
Rice arrived in Jerusalem on a trip designed partly to prod Iraq's neighbours to lend more help to the struggling government of Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki.
The Bush administration is relying on al-Maliki for the success of the plan Bush announced on Wednesday to make Baghdad safer from sectarian violence.
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