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U.S. Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel speaks to the media after meeting with Iraqi officials, in Baghdad, Iraq, Tuesday, Dec. 9, 2014. Hagel, who flew to Baghdad to get a first-hand report on progress against the Islamic State militants, held a series of meetings with top Iraqi government officials and conferred with American military commanders. Al-Abadi told Hagel on Tuesday that his army is taking the offensive against the Islamic State group but needs more air power and heavy weaponry to prevail. (AP Photo/Mark Wilson, Pool)(The Associated Press)

U.S. Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel speaks to troops stationed at Baghdad International Airport, in Baghdad, Iraq, Tuesday, Dec. 9, 2014. Hagel, who flew to Baghdad to get a first-hand report on progress against the Islamic State militants, held a series of meetings with top Iraqi government officials and conferred with American military commanders. Al-Abadi told Hagel on Tuesday that his army is taking the offensive against the Islamic State group but needs more air power and heavy weaponry to prevail. (AP Photo/Mark Wilson, Pool)(The Associated Press)

BAGHDAD As the first American defense secretary to visit Iraq since the U.S. officially ended its long war three years ago, Chuck Hagel's message to Iraqi leaders was plain: U.S. military power didn't solve Iraq's problems last time, nor will it now.

"As Iraqi leaders and the people of Iraq know, only they can bring lasting peace to their country if they are resolved to do this," Hagel told reporters Tuesday after meeting Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi and other top Iraqi officials.

Hagel offered assurances that Washington is committed to helping Iraq regain the territory it lost to Islamic State fighters this year, and he emphasized the importance of building a durable international coalition to combat the extremist group. But equally important was his insistence that no amount of outside assistance can substitute for Iraqi will.

He acknowledged that al-Abadi had asked him for more American air power and more U.S. heavy weaponry. "We need that," the prime minister could be heard telling Hagel as they began their meeting in al-Abadi's office. Asked by reporters later how he had responded, Hagel pointedly declined to say whether he agreed with al-Abadi.

U.S. warplanes have been attacking Islamic State targets across much of northern and western Iraq since August. In the months ahead, the Pentagon hopes to increasingly use air power in conjunction with Iraqi ground counteroffensives to retake territory. But Hagel's remarks seemed intended to encourage the idea that the Iraqis' main focus should be on strengthening their own forces rather than appealing to Washington for a silver-bullet solution through U.S. firepower.

Hagel, who resigned under pressure barely two weeks ago, stuck to the Obama administration's insistence that Iraq's problems ultimately are rooted in political weakness that created the conditions for the Iraqi army's collapse last June, when Islamic State fighters swept across northern Iraq, captured the city of Mosul and stirred fear in Baghdad. In recent weeks the Iraqi security forces have staged a modest rebound, essentially halting further IS advances.

"For these gains to be sustainable, the Iraqi government must continue to build an inclusive government that represents all its people a government that all of the Iraqi people can have confidence in and trust," Hagel said.

While it encourages the Iraqi government to pull together, the U.S. is working to build an international coalition that would help rebuild the Iraqi army. Four sites for the retraining of Iraqi forces are to be set up, with trainers from the U.S. and other countries.

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Hagel: US military power will not solve Iraq's problems