April 24 (Bloomberg) -- President George W. Bush said he's confident that U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales did ``nothing wrong'' in the firings of eight federal prosecutors and said Iraq's leader is meeting U.S. expectations.

``Al could've done a better job and his department could've done a better job of just explaining why we did what we did,'' Bush said in an interview in New York today on PBS television's ``Charlie Rose'' show. ``Instead we've got hearings and testimonies based on something that was perfectly legal.''

Gonzales testified April 19 before the Senate Judiciary Committee to explain the circumstances behind the firing of the federal prosecutors. Bush has brushed aside calls from Democrats and some Republicans for Gonzales to resign over the dismissals, a stance he reasserted today.

``I've got confidence in Al,'' Bush said. ``He's caught up in Washington right now; it's what happens in that town a lot -- there's a lot of politics.''

On Iraq, his main foreign policy challenge, Bush said any timetable for U.S. involvement, as sought by congressional Democrats, would allow extremists to wait for coalition troops to leave so they can ``use opportunities in Iraq'' to launch attacks on the West.

`Too Early'

``It's too early to judge'' whether the deployment of more troops to help secure Baghdad will be successful, he said noting that only about 50 percent of the extra combat forces have arrived in Iraq.

The U.S. is sending about 30,000 more combat and support troops to the country, which will bring the total U.S. force there to more than 150,000.

He said that Army General David Petraeus, the top U.S. commander in Iraq, has stated it may be September before he knows whether the new Baghdad security plan is successful.

``The fundamental question is will it work, will it provide enough breathing space'' for the Iraqi government to gain more control of the country, Bush said. ``The verdict is still out.''

Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki ``is meeting expectations as far as I'm concerned and I think as far as our military folks are concerned,'' Bush said. ``He's learning how to be a leader.''

He also said the U.S. will continue to work with Russia, China and European countries to pressure Iran to end its nuclear program. In response to a question, he said the Russians have done everything the U.S. has asked regarding Iran.

Iran

While the U.S. is open to direct talks with Iran, he said, doing it unilaterally won't achieve the goal of stopping Iran's nuclear development program.

``I don't believe a discussion with Iran alone at this moment in time would yield the result we want,'' Bush said. ``I feel confident that a more effective message to the Iranians is one that in which the United States is a part of a chorus as opposed to singing solo.''

For the remainder of his term, Bush said he wants Congress to focus on passing an immigration bill and energy legislation aimed at cutting U.S. oil imports.

An overhaul of Social Security, a Bush effort in 2005 didn't gain the support of Democrats, probably won't happen during his presidency, Bush said in the interview, which is scheduled to be broadcast at 10 p.m. New York time.

``I tried in 2005 and -- I'll keep pushing -- but I just don't think it's going to happen,'' he said.

To contact the reporter on this story: Brendan Murray in Washington at brmurray@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: April 24, 2007 18:33 EDT