Under pressure to explain US President George W. Bush's endorsement of an undefined "time horizon" for security in Iraq, spokeswoman Dana Perino said the accord will likely set specific dates for achieving specific security goals.

"We expect a aspirational goal, time horizon, as we describe it, for a date so it would be by X month -- and it could be multiple dates," Perino told reporters.

"You could say, 'by this month we'll be able to take over this province, and then by this month, that province.' So those are the type of dates we're looking at," she said.

Perino also warned that the agreement may not be reached by the previously stated July 31 target deadline, saying: "I don't necessarily think we'll meet that date in particular; could be a few days or a couple weeks past that."

The White House has been reeling from Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's public remarks, months before the November US presidential elections, in favor of setting a target date for withdrawing US combat forces.

On Monday, Perino said that the US-Iraq strategic accord may set dates for the handover of security to the Iraqis but will not do so with regard to US combat troop levels.

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