The international community "must now designate the leadership of this new international force, give it robust rules of engagement and deploy it as quickly as possible to secure the peace," Bush said at the news conference.

Bush said UN Security Council Resolution 1701 authorized an effective international force to deploy to Lebanon, which was essential to peace in the region.

"An effective international force will help ensure the cessation of hostilities' holds in southern Lebanon once the Israeli troops withdraw," he said.

Bush added that an effective international force would help "stop Hezbollah from acting as a state within a state" and would give displaced people "the confidence to return to their homes and begin rebuilding their lives."

An international force required international commitment, he said.

The resolution authorized a force of up to 15,000 troops to Lebanon and gave the force "an expanded mandate," he said.

"The need is urgent," said the president.

UN Security Council Resolution 1701, approved unanimously earlier this month, authorized the number of an existing UN force in Lebanon to expand to 15,000, in a bid to help Lebanon take control of the south of the country.

France, Italy and some other countries have expressed their willingness to participate in the UN peacekeeping force, while the United States has announced it would not send troops to take part in the force in Lebanon.

Bush said the United States would assist the expanded new international force with logistic support, command and control, communications and intelligence.

Speaking of Iran, Bush said the United States is waiting for Iran's formal response on the UN Security Council resolution which requests Iran to suspend uranium enrichment by the end of this month.

"We have passed one Security Council resolution, demanding that Iran cease its enrichment activities. We will see what their response is..." Bush said.

He said he will continue to remind friends and allies of the danger of a nuclear Iran.

Bush also accused Iran of sponsoring the Lebanese Hezbollah, branded by the United States as a terrorist group.

Bush made the comments as Iran's self-imposed deadline of Aug. 22 for responding to a package of incentives offered by six major countries in return for halting the nuclear program.

Meanwhile, the UN Security Council has set a deadline of Aug. 31 for Iran to suspend the program or face the possibility of economic sanctions.

However, statements by Iranian officials so far suggest that Iran will neither agree to the incentives deal nor yield to the Security Council.

As for Iraq, Bush ruled out any quick withdrawal of its troops from Iraq and said that won't happen during his presidency.

"We're not leaving so long as I'm the president. That would be a huge mistake," Bush said.

He cautioned that any early pullout plan will send an unbelievably "terrible signal" to reformers across the region and "give the terrorists a safe haven from which to launch attacks."

"A failed Iraq in the heart of the Middle East will provide safe haven for terrorists and extremists. It will embolden those who are trying to thwart the ambitions of reformers, " said the president.

The president said his administration has "a plan to help the Iraqis to achieve their objectives" and part of the plan is to help the Iraqi government work on reconciliation and to work on rehabilitating the community.

Bush made the speech at a time when the administration is facing growing pressure on the Iraq issues ahead of the congressional elections in November.