One hundred days after he declared major combat in Iraq over, US President George W. Bush is still tied up with the Iraqi dossier -- and facing criticism from some of his Democratic opponents, who accuse him of dragging the United States into war.

By announcing on May 1 an end to large-scale military operations in Iraq, Bush inaugurated a second phase of the US-British intervention, which involves rebuilding and democratizing the country.

The backdrop chosen for this announcement was an aircraft carrier cruising near the coast of California. Bush landed on its deck wearing the uniform of a fighter pilot, which gave the scene a triumphal aspect.

But since then, more than 50 American soldiers have been killed and many others have been wounded as a result of guerrilla operations, and the plan for Iraq's

reconstruction has stumbled more than once.

The first US civilian administrator for Iraq, Jay Garner, was quickly replaced by Paul Bremer. The establishment of an Iraqi provisional government theoretically to be followed by elections is just one of the difficulties he faces.

The Bush administration is also the target of a barrage of criticism for allegedly hyping information on Iraq's suspected weapons of mass destruction in order to persuade Congress and the American public to support the war.

These weapons have still not been found.

In this situation, Bush is trying to place the invasion of Iraq in the context of the war on terror.

"The rise of a free and peaceful Iraq is critical to the stability of the Middle East, and a stable Middle East is critical to the security of the American people," Bush underlined during a July 30 press conference,

days before his departure for a four-week vacation at his ranch in Crawford, Texas.

Administration officials point out that the president has never tried to conceal that the post-war period in Iraq would not be easy.

They compare present criticism with attacks on the administration a few days after the beginning of combat, when opponents of the president charged that the US army was poorly prepared to face resistance from troops loyal to Saddam Hussein.

Another thorn in the White House's side is that four months after the fall of Baghdad, the deposed Iraqi leader still remains atlarge.

The July 22 deaths of his two sons, who were killed by US soldiers, is the main success chalked up by the Bush administration which has exploited that fact to the hilt, publishing photographs of the men's bodies.