Al-Maliki is coming under increasing pressure from Washington to demonstrate progress in easing sectarian violence, and Cheney's unannounced visit to Iraq was depicted by U.S. officials as an attempt to press al-Maliki and other Iraqi leaders to do more to achieve reconciliation among factions.

Cheney said that much still must be done by Iraq to reconcile differences.

"I do sense today that there is a greater awareness on the part of these Iraqi officials I talked to of the importance of their working together to resolve these issues in a timely fashion," he said.

Cheney also said that, while he didn't want to butt in on domestic legislative issues, he did make Iraqi leaders aware of U.S. concerns about talk of a two-month summer recess. With many pending important issues, including how to share oil revenues, "any undue delay would be difficult to explain," Cheney said.

Echoing officials in Washington, Cheney rejected Democratic proposals that would provide only short-term money to pay for war efforts.

Cheney said efforts to restrict funds resulted in the first Bush veto and that the administration still believes that spending for operations in Iraq should "not contain conditions that limit the flexibility of our commanders on the ground in Iraq or interferes with the president's constitutional prerogatives."

Appearing before reporters with Cheney, Gen. David Petraeus, commander of coalition forces in Iraq, cited progress on the ground in reducing sectarian violence, especially in volatile Anbar Province. Still, he said, he still believes that the conflict in Iraq will continue to require a substantial U.S. commitment.