"I don't know the whereabouts of Saddam Hussein. I don't know if he's dead or alive. I do know he's no longer in power," Bush said after meeting for the first time at two area military hospitals with US soldiers wounded in Iraq.

Asked when the hostilities will officially be over, the US leader replied: "This war will end when our commanders on the field tell me that the objective has been achieved."

Bush cited Army General Tommy Franks, who has run the campaign to disarm and topple Saddam from the region itself, saying: "He's better to judge whether we've achieved the objective than I have."

"We gave Tommy the tools necessary to win, we agreed with his strategy, and he's running this war. And when Tommy says we've achieved our objective, that's when we've achieved our objective," said Bush.

The president was flanked by First Lady Laura Bush, who attended high school with Franks in Bush's home state of Texas.

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