U.S. Vice-President Dick Cheney yesterday declared the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq a "successful endeavor," during his visit to Baghdad that marked the fifth anniversary of the invasion. He also said that the United States must continue operations in Iraq until the job is complete.

"If you look back on those five years it has been a difficult, challenging but nonetheless successful endeavor ... and it has been well worth the effort," Cheney said after meeting Iraqi leaders.

"It would be a mistake now to be so eager to draw down the force that we risk putting the outcome in jeopardy, and I don't think we'll do that," he said.

The war in Iraq, which is a major issue in the U.S. presidential campaign, started more than five years ago and it has cost the Americans $500 billion. During the war, tens of thousands of Iraqis were killed and nearly 4,000 U.S. soldiers died.

Shortly after Cheney’s speech, a female suicide bomber blew herself up in a café in the Shiite city of Kerbala, killing 40 people and injuring 71, police officials said.

On this second trip of Cheney in Iraq, the vice president met with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, Army Gen. David H. Petraeus, the top U.S. commander in Iraq, and U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Ryan C. Crocker.

He declared he had noticed a significant progress regarding security and government in Iraq since his last visit.

"I was last in Baghdad 10 months ago and I sense, as a result of the progress that has been made since then, phenomenal changes in terms of the overall situation," Cheney said after meeting Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki.

"There is still a lot of difficult work that must be done, but as we move forward the Iraqi people should know that they will have the unwavering support of President Bush and the United States in consolidating their democracy," the U.S. vice president assured Iraq’s nation.

John McCain was also in a visit in Iraq at the time, but did not see Cheney, who was caught up between a series of meetings with Iraqi leaders.