Wednesday, November 22, 2006
Bush to meet al-Maliki in Jordan next week
Security, Politics
U.S. President George W. Bush will meet Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki in Jordan next week as pressure builds on both leaders for decisive action to halt a slide into chaos many fear could destabilize the region.
The meeting, in a much safer venue than Baghdad, will follow a weekend visit to Iran by Iraqi President Jalal Talabani and this week's landmark visit to Iraq by Syria's foreign minister.
They will be the first lengthy talks between Bush and Maliki since Bush pledged a new approach on Iraq after his Democratic opponents took control of Congress. They will come a month after the two spoke to ease tension after indications of irritation on both sides about how much the other was doing to halt violence.
They agreed to draw up plans for accelerating the training of Iraqi forces and the transfer of responsibility. Maliki said Iraqis could take charge in six months, half the U.S. estimate.
A joint statement on the November 29-30 Amman summit said: "We will focus our discussions on current developments in Iraq, progress made to date in the deliberations of a high-level joint committee on transferring security responsibility and the role of the region in supporting Iraq." With Bush's allies urging him to reach out on Iraq to U.S. adversaries in Tehran and Damascus, Washington reacted coolly to the flurry of regional diplomacy seen with Syria restoring full relations with Iraq and Talabani announcing his trip to Iran.
The meeting, in a much safer venue than Baghdad, will follow a weekend visit to Iran by Iraqi President Jalal Talabani and this week's landmark visit to Iraq by Syria's foreign minister.
They will be the first lengthy talks between Bush and Maliki since Bush pledged a new approach on Iraq after his Democratic opponents took control of Congress. They will come a month after the two spoke to ease tension after indications of irritation on both sides about how much the other was doing to halt violence.
They agreed to draw up plans for accelerating the training of Iraqi forces and the transfer of responsibility. Maliki said Iraqis could take charge in six months, half the U.S. estimate.
A joint statement on the November 29-30 Amman summit said: "We will focus our discussions on current developments in Iraq, progress made to date in the deliberations of a high-level joint committee on transferring security responsibility and the role of the region in supporting Iraq." With Bush's allies urging him to reach out on Iraq to U.S. adversaries in Tehran and Damascus, Washington reacted coolly to the flurry of regional diplomacy seen with Syria restoring full relations with Iraq and Talabani announcing his trip to Iran.
Some analysts say anti-American Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, whose country is accused by Washington of backing Shi'ite militias in Iraq, may have pushed the talks to upstage Bush. Ahmadinejad also invited Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, although Iraqi officials said a three-way summit is unlikely. Next month Bush is expected to receive recommendations on Iraq from a bipartisan Iraq Study Group. The Pentagon is conducting its own review of the approach on Iraq. National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley said Maliki has "obviously been developing his own ideas on the way forward".
In Baghdad, Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moualem, on a first such visit since U.S. troops overthrew Saddam Hussein, signed an accord to restore diplomatic relations in which he also accepted the U.S. troop presence in Iraq. Previously he had insisted that a timetable should be set for their withdrawal.
In Baghdad, Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moualem, on a first such visit since U.S. troops overthrew Saddam Hussein, signed an accord to restore diplomatic relations in which he also accepted the U.S. troop presence in Iraq. Previously he had insisted that a timetable should be set for their withdrawal.
