CANBERRA, Australia - Prime Minister John Howard, responding to the Iraq Study Group report, said Friday he would like to see Australian troops out of Iraq but refused to set a deadline for their withdrawal.

Howard's comments echoed those of President Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair, who also have given the group's proposals a chilly reception.

"Everybody would like to be out as soon as possible. We all know it is going badly," Howard told Southern Cross Broadcasting. But I am not going to make myself in any way hostage to a particular date."

Howard's conservative government has remained an unflagging US ally in Iraq, despite widespread opposition to the war at home. Autralia has around 1,320 troops in and around Iraq, mostly guarding Australian diplomats in Baghdad and training Iraqi forces in two southern provinces.

This week's report by the bipartisan Iraq Study Group said Washington's war policies had failed and the situation in Iraq now called for a sharp change of course that foresees the withdrawal of combat troops.

The prime minister conceded the situation in Iraq was getting worse but repeated his oft-stated position that Australian forces must remain in Iraq for as long as they are needed.

"The exit strategy is to go when the coalition is satisfied that the country can reasonably look after itself," he added.