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Bush vows to 'complete Iraq job' Bush vows to 'complete Iraq job'
(about 2 hours later)
US President George W Bush has pledged to keep American troops in Iraq until "the job is complete".US President George W Bush has pledged to keep American troops in Iraq until "the job is complete".
Speaking after a summit in Jordan with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Maliki, he said troops would remain as long as Mr Maliki's government wanted them there. Speaking after a summit in Jordan with Iraqi PM Nouri Maliki, he said troops would remain as long as Mr Maliki's government wanted them there.
President Bush praised Mr Maliki as a strong leader. He said the Iraqi PM had told him that any partition of Iraq would only make things worse. But he said it was important to speed up training for the Iraqi security forces. Mr Bush praised Mr Maliki as the "right guy for Iraq".
The summit had been delayed by a day amid denials of a snub to Mr Bush.The summit had been delayed by a day amid denials of a snub to Mr Bush.
It was held as reports suggested a report by America's cross-party Iraq Study Group would recommend changes to US policy.It was held as reports suggested a report by America's cross-party Iraq Study Group would recommend changes to US policy.
Speaking at Thursday's joint news conference, Mr Maliki said his government was at one with the rest of the "civilised world" in fighting terror. It appears to recommend a pullback of US troops to their bases but no firm timetable for a pullout from Iraq.
He said he wanted a relationship of mutual respect with Iraq's neighbours. 'Helping liberty'
Mr Bush said it was important to speed up training for the Iraqi security forces and that Mr Maliki should have more forces under his control, so that terrorists and death squads could be defeated. Mr Bush said the Iraqi prime minister had told him any partition of the country would only make things worse.
Under pressure It's basically a redeployment Source speaking about forthcoming US Iraq report href="/1/hi/world/middle_east/6158581.stm" class="">Report 'advises US pullback' href="/1/hi/world/middle_east/6157031.stm" class="">US memo raises Maliki doubts
Both leaders face pressure over the situation in Iraq and the summit followed one of the bloodiest weeks in the country since the US-led invasion in 2003. "The prime minister made clear that splitting his country into parts... is not what the Iraqi people want and that any partition of Iraq would only lead to an increase in sectarian violence. I agree.
He [Mr Maliki] impressed me as a leader who wanted to be strong but was having difficulty figuring out how to do so Stephen Hadley href="/1/hi/world/middle_east/6157031.stm" class="">US memo raises Maliki doubts "In the long term, security in Iraq requires reconciliation."
Mr Maliki was under enormous pressure at home not to meet President Bush, says the BBC's Jon Leyne in Amman. It was important, Mr Bush continued, to speed up training for the Iraqi security forces which were "evolving from ground zero".
In protest against the planned meeting, the Iraqi political group loyal to Shia cleric Moqtada Sadr suspended its participation in the government. He said that Mr Maliki should have more forces under his control, so that terrorists and death squads could be defeated.
The group, which has 30 MPs and a handful of ministers, had been making the threat for some days and had called for Mr Maliki to call off the Jordan meeting. But he added that it was in US interests "to help liberty prevail in the Middle East, starting with Iraq".
Mr Maliki has also been the subject of a leaked US memo, published in the New York Times on Monday, in which Mr Bush's national security adviser, Stephen Hadley, raised doubts about his ability to control sectarian violence. "And that's why this business about graceful exit simply has no realism to it at all," Mr Bush said.
According to the Times, the 8 November memo said that while Mr Maliki's intentions seemed good, his capabilities were "not yet sufficient to turn his good intentions into actions". For his part, Mr Maliki said his government was at one with the rest of the "civilised world" in fighting terror.
Report looms He said he wanted to work with all law-abiding parties inside Iraq and sought a relationship of mutual respect with Iraq's neighbours.
Mr Bush, meanwhile, is facing growing political pressure over the lack of progress in Iraq and the rising tide of violence, says the BBC's Jonathan Beale in Washington. New landscape
Even the White House acknowledges the violence has reached a new phase, though it still dismisses talk of a civil war, he says. The summit followed one of the bloodiest weeks in the country since the US-led invasion in 2003.
Reports on Wednesday suggested that the US is planning to move more troops into Baghdad early next year in a bid to restore calm. Mr Maliki was under enormous pressure at home not to meet President Bush with the political group loyal to Shia cleric Moqtada Sadr suspending its participation in the government.
But first comes the publication of the report from the Iraq Study Group, the bipartisan panel set up to examine US policy on Iraq. The group will release its findings on 6 December, it said in a statement on Wednesday. A leaked US memo also raised questions about Mr Maliki's ability to control sectarian violence.
The co-chairman of the group, Senator Lee Hamilton, said members had now reached a consensus - but did not give details. And the US cross-party Iraq Study Group is due to release a review of Iraq policy next week which is thought to call for a troop withdrawal and eventual talks with Syria and Iran.
Initials reports suggest it will recommend the US military move from a combative to a supportive role, and also urge a regional conference involving Iran and Syria. The BBC's world affairs correspondent, Nick Childs, notes that the central theme of the Amman summit was clearly how to give more security responsibility to the Iraqis themselves more quickly.
But Mr Bush also seemed, again, to play down the prospects of direct US talks with Iran on Iraq.
For his part, Mr Maliki expressed some frustration over the criticism he has received and underlined the challenges his government faces.
The fact and the tone of this meeting were clear recognition that the two leaders are confronting new political pressures and a new political landscape, our correspondent says.