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| Bush meets key Iraqi Shia leader | |
| (about 6 hours later) | |
| US President George W Bush has told one of Iraq's most powerful Shia leaders, Abdel Aziz al-Hakim, that he is "not satisfied" with conditions in Iraq. | |
| But during talks at the White House, Mr Bush said he told Mr Hakim that the US fully supported the Iraqi government. | |
| Mr Hakim said he opposed any foreign move to solve Iraq's problems that bypassed the Baghdad government. | |
| Mr Bush is said to be exploring options for US policy in Iraq, days before the Iraq Study Group reports its findings. | Mr Bush is said to be exploring options for US policy in Iraq, days before the Iraq Study Group reports its findings. |
| The Associated Press news agency quotes Mr Bush as saying he told Mr Hakim "the US supports his work and the work of the prime minister to unify the country". | |
| "I told his eminence that I was proud of the courage of the Iraqi people. I told him that we're not satisfied with the pace of progress in Iraq." | |
| Speaking after meeting Mr Bush, Mr Hakim said he "vehemently" opposed any regional or international effort to solve Iraq's problems that ignored the wishes of the Iraqi government. | |
| "Iraq should be in a position to solve Iraq's problems," AP quotes Mr Hakim as saying. | |
| Mr Hakim heads the largest Shia party in Iraq's parliament, the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq (Sciri). | |
| Sciri has ties to Iran, and its former military wing has been accused of fuelling sectarian violence. | |
| Militia worries | Militia worries |
| Mr Hakim, a cleric, enjoys wide influence in Iraq because of his party's popularity among the country's majority Shia population. | Mr Hakim, a cleric, enjoys wide influence in Iraq because of his party's popularity among the country's majority Shia population. |
| Ongoing violence in Iraq is taking a heavy toll on the countryHe lived in exile in Iran in the years before the fall of Saddam Hussein, and retains strong links with Tehran. | Ongoing violence in Iraq is taking a heavy toll on the countryHe lived in exile in Iran in the years before the fall of Saddam Hussein, and retains strong links with Tehran. |
| His Sciri party joined forces with a host of other Shia groups to win a majority of seats in Iraq's parliament in elections last December. | His Sciri party joined forces with a host of other Shia groups to win a majority of seats in Iraq's parliament in elections last December. |
| The former armed wing of Sciri, the Badr Brigade, has merged with the army and police force, but it has been accused of taking part in the torture and killing of Sunnis. | The former armed wing of Sciri, the Badr Brigade, has merged with the army and police force, but it has been accused of taking part in the torture and killing of Sunnis. |
| Correspondents say Mr Bush's decision to meet Mr Hakim may be a sign that the president is reaching out to influential figures in Iraq to bolster the struggling government of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki. | Correspondents say Mr Bush's decision to meet Mr Hakim may be a sign that the president is reaching out to influential figures in Iraq to bolster the struggling government of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki. |
| 'New way forward' | 'New way forward' |
| Mr Hakim travelled to the White House as the US was engaged in the most wide-scale reappraisal of its strategy in Iraq since the 2003 invasion. | |
| Mr Bush's meeting with Iraq's PM was overshadowed by a leakMr Bush met Mr Maliki in Jordan last week, but that meeting was somewhat overshadowed by a leaked memo that appeared to question the Iraqi leader's authority and ability. | Mr Bush's meeting with Iraq's PM was overshadowed by a leakMr Bush met Mr Maliki in Jordan last week, but that meeting was somewhat overshadowed by a leaked memo that appeared to question the Iraqi leader's authority and ability. |
| The bipartisan Iraq Study Group, which reports on Wednesday, is expected to recommend talks with Syria and Iran as part of a reappraisal of US policy. | The bipartisan Iraq Study Group, which reports on Wednesday, is expected to recommend talks with Syria and Iran as part of a reappraisal of US policy. |
| On Sunday, the president's national security adviser said repeatedly that Mr Bush would consider all of the panel's recommendations in an attempt to find "new way forward" in Iraq. | On Sunday, the president's national security adviser said repeatedly that Mr Bush would consider all of the panel's recommendations in an attempt to find "new way forward" in Iraq. |
| "The president understands that we need to have a way forward in Iraq that is more successful," Stephen Hadley said. | "The president understands that we need to have a way forward in Iraq that is more successful," Stephen Hadley said. |
| Reports also emerged on Sunday that former Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld made a series of recommendations days before he resigned last month about how the US could change its policy in Iraq. | Reports also emerged on Sunday that former Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld made a series of recommendations days before he resigned last month about how the US could change its policy in Iraq. |
| The outgoing UN Secretary General, Kofi Annan, claimed in a BBC interview on Monday that violence in Iraq was now "worse than a civil war", a suggestion denied by the Iraqi government. | The outgoing UN Secretary General, Kofi Annan, claimed in a BBC interview on Monday that violence in Iraq was now "worse than a civil war", a suggestion denied by the Iraqi government. |