Bush, Maliki agree on more US troops for Baghdad

George W Bush (left) and Nuri al-Maliki

WASHINGTON - President George W Bush and Iraq's prime minister agreed today that more US and Iraqi troops will go to Baghdad to try to slow sectarian violence, but their talks also exposed differences on the fighting in Lebanon.

"God willing, there will be no civil war in Iraq," Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki said.

Bush, at a news conference with Maliki that lacked much warmth, said troops going to Baghdad would be pulled from areas in Iraq deemed relatively free of violence.

The new security plan was an acknowledgment that Maliki's attempt to pacify Baghdad had failed, with hundreds of people killed in sectarian violence every week.

It was unclear how the new plan would affect Pentagon hopes of reducing US troops in Iraq by year's end. Republicans had hoped a troop reduction would help them deflect voter anger over Iraq in November elections when they are fighting to keep control of the US Congress.

There are now 127,000 American troops in Iraq.

Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, after meeting the visiting Iraqi leader at the Pentagon, said the increase in forces in the Baghdad area will be "more than hundreds," but was no more precise.

Rumsfeld also said Maliki requested additional equipment for Iraqi security forces, now being trained by about 4,000 US troops in Iraq.

"He is very focused, clearly, on the Baghdad situation," Rumsfeld said of Maliki. "And he recognises that it is not a military problem as such. It is a combination of political and military and economic."

A US defence official said 400 soldiers, from an Army brigade held in reserve in Kuwait, will be sent into Iraq in the coming days to help free up other troops to go to Baghdad.

BUSH PLEDGE

Bush said troop decisions will be made by US commanders on the ground and he assured Maliki that, "America will not abandon the Iraqi people."

"No question it's tough in Baghdad. And no question it's tough in other parts of Iraq. But there are also places where progress is being made," Bush said.

Bush's national security adviser, Stephen Hadley, would not say how long he expected the Baghdad operation to last. He said the beefed-up American presence would be aimed at "giving some reassurance to the population there that in a way the sheriff has arrived."

The two leaders also had what Bush called a "frank exchange" -- diplomatic parlance for a disagreement -- over the conflict between Israel and Hizbollah in southern Lebanon.

Maliki told the news conference he stressed the importance of an immediate cease-fire, a position Bush refused to embrace, saying he wanted a "lasting peace, not a temporary peace."

Bush has resisted multiple calls from Arab leaders for him to urge an immediate cease-fire, saying Hizbollah attacks on Israelis must be addressed.

Statements by Maliki before the visit denouncing Israel while refusing to condemn Hizbollah angered Democrats.

"Prime Minister Maliki missed an important opportunity to state his position on Hizbollah and instead left the impression that he does not oppose this terrorist organisation's outrageous attacks on Israel," said Massachusetts Democratic Sen. John Kerry.

A group of House of Representatives Democrats circulated a letter to Speaker Dennis Hastert urging the Illinois Republican to get an apology from Maliki or cancel his address on Wednesday to a joint meeting of Congress.

Ron Bonjean, Hastert's spokesman, said there was no intention to cancel Maliki's speech, and accused Democrats of "political gamesmanship during an election year."

Asked at the White House his position in Hizbollah, Maliki demurred, saying "we are not in the process of reviewing one issue or another, or any government position."

- REUTERS