Bush reviews strategy on Iraq

WASHINGTON -- President Bush met yesterday with his top advisers and military commanders on Iraq to weigh possible tactical changes that could be used to overcome the severe challenges posed by the war, senior officials said.

The administration said it is considering no major shifts in policy, but several officials said it plans to press the Iraqi government over the next year to take more responsibility for securing the country and make both economic and political progress.

The participants in the 90-minute video conference at the White House included Vice President Dick Cheney, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, US Ambassador to Iraq Zalmay Khalilzad, and General George Casey, the military commander in Iraq.

In his weekly radio address yesterday, Bush offered no indications of any change in the US military role even as he acknowledged the increasing violence in Iraq.

"Our goal is clear and unchanging: Our goal is victory," he said. "What is changing are the tactics we use to achieve that goal. Our commanders on the ground are constantly adjusting their approach to stay ahead of the enemy, particularly in Baghdad."

The New York Times reported in today's editions that the administration is drafting a timetable for the Iraqi government to take on a greater role in securing the country and curbing sectarian rifts that have fueled insurgent violence.

If the Iraqis fail to meet the timetable, the United States would consider changes in policy short of troop withdrawals, The Times said, citing senior administration officials. It would mark the first time the administration has used deadline threats to pressure the Iraqi government to move more aggressively to stabilize the country, as well as root out corruption and improve infrastructure.

The plan is to be presented to the government of Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki later this year and carried out over the next year, The Times said.

White House officials said the matter was not discussed at yesterday's meeting and said no sweeping policy changes are contemplated. Still, administration officials acknowledged they have been pushing for months for the Iraqis to take greater control.

In a news conference Friday, Rumsfeld emphasized that US officials want the Iraqi government to offer projections about when it will be able to make those moves.

"The biggest mistake would be not to pass things over to the Iraqis," Rumsfeld said. "It's their country. They're going to have to govern it. They're going to have to provide security for it. And they're going to have to do it sooner rather than later."

Benchmarks have been part of the US policy in Iraq for months, said Dan Bartlett, a top aide to Bush. "Implicit in that is that if they are not achieving the benchmarks, we are going to have to make changes accordingly," he said.

"We are constantly developing new tactics to achieve our goal," said Frederick Jones, a spokesman for the National Security Council. "We've been coordinating with the Iraqis for months on a series of measures they can take to assume more control of their country."

The high-level meeting came amid growing US frustration with the deteriorating state of affairs in Iraq, where civilian and US military casualties have been increasing in recent weeks.

The spike in violence, coupled with the growing antipathy among the American public toward the war, is feeding a growing sense that the administration will be forced to retreat from its open-ended support of the war.

Almost two-thirds of Americans surveyed in a Newsweek poll released yesterday said the US is losing ground in its efforts to establish security and democracy in Iraq.