The deputy prime minister of Iraq, Ahmad Chalabi, is thanking America and President Bush for liberating his country and is urging Syria to stop providing a safe haven to terrorists.

Mr. Chalabi made his remarks Friday during a visit to The New York Sun, where he met with the newspaper’s editors. The comments may provide a boost to Mr. Bush, who has come under attack from Democrats for his handling of Iraq. They may also increase pressure on the regime in Damascus, which Mr. Bush said Friday deserves “no patience.”

Mr. Chalabi said that on his visit to Washington and New York, he was bringing “a message of thanks to the American people and President Bush for the liberation of Iraq.”

“The liberation of Iraq was a very good thing, not only for the people of Iraq, but also for the United States and for the cause of freedom,” Mr. Chalabi said.

He said increased security in Iraq could be attained by cutting off the flow of foreign fighters, establishing a serious intelligence service in Iraq, and increasing Sunni participation in civic life.

“The Syrians are guilty,” Mr. Chalabi said. “Foreign fighters are traveling through Syria to Iraq.” He said Syria was providing both a “transit route” and a “safe haven” to the foreign fighters, and he said he hoped that would stop.

Asked if more American troops are needed in Iraq, Mr. Chalabi said, “No.”

Mr. Chalabi also reflected on seeing Saddam Hussein after the Iraqi dictator’s capture. He said he felt “sadness for the people of Iraq that this idiot ran their affairs for all this time.”

Mr. Chalabi met with top Bush administration officials, including the secretary of state and the national security adviser, on his visit to Washington. He also spoke at the American Enterprise Institute and at the Council on Foreign Relations.

Mr. Chalabi’s advocacy in Washington for years before the Iraq war helped build the case for ousting Saddam and bringing democracy to Iraq. His relationship with the Bush administration has been a roller coaster. Before the war, he warned in an interview with the Sun of “abysmal” political planning by the administration for the postwar period. In that postwar period, some factions of the Bush administration and American personnel in Iraq have at times tried to marginalize him while boosting his opponents. Yet Mr. Chalabi on Friday sounded optimistic about his relationship with the administration, saying that he had “better dialogue with the American authorities in Iraq now, both civilian and military.”