WASHINGTON, 14 December 2006 — US President George W. Bush, facing intense pressure to craft a new blueprint for the Iraq war, will not be unveiling his new strategy for Iraq until next year, according to his aides, though they insist the US will hold fast to its objectives and commitment.
The White House said late Tuesday that Bush knows the general direction he wants to move US policy but won’t announce it until January. Bush gave no public hints of a change in direction after a meeting with Iraq’s Sunni Vice President Tariq Al-Hashemi, one of three Iraqi powerbrokers he’s met within the last weeks. Bush met for 25 minutes with Hashemi, who has been linked to a behind-the-scenes effort to form a new ruling bloc that could topple the fragile Iraqi government led by Nuri Al-Maliki.
The White House would not say whether Bush and Hashemi talked about the movement afoot to form a new ruling coalition that would exclude anti-American Shiite leader Moqtada Al-Sadr and radical Sunnis. Bush has called Maliki the “right guy” for Iraq, but Maliki is dependent on Sadr for political support.
The Iraq Study Group, a 10-member bipartisan panel created by Congress to make recommendations on US strategy, identified Hashemi as a key Sunni figure who has broad support. One of two Iraqi vice presidents, Hashemi heads the Iraqi Islamic party. He opposes the formation of autonomous regions in Iraq and has advocated the removal of Shiite militia fighters from the Iraqi security forces. Shiite death squads recently killed three of his siblings, the report said.
“The vice president has suffered unspeakable violence in his family,” Bush said on Tuesday. “In spite of his grief and in spite of the pain in his heart, he is willing to work for a united Iraq and a peaceful Iraq.”
The president’s aides said Bush would wait until the New Year before laying out a new course for US involvement in Iraq.
“It’s not ready yet,” Press Secretary Tony Snow told reporters. “The president generally knows what direction he wants to move in, but there are very practical things that need to be dealt with,” Snow said. “This is not a sign of trouble. This is a sign of determination on the part of the president.”
Taking questions after a State Department meeting with Australia’s foreign minister, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said there were several factors behind the delay including a desire to allow incoming Defense Secretary Robert Gates to settle in and help in developing the new policy. Gates starts the job on Dec. 18.
“The president’s goal and indeed his responsibility is to do precisely what he said he would do,” Rice said. She said that was to present to the American people “a new way forward.” She said the president was still considering advice from administration officials and commanders in Iraq and was studying the Iraq Study Group’s report.
The report rejected calls for a quick withdrawal of troops but suggested that most US combat forces might be withdrawn by early 2008 — and that the US mission should be changed from combat to training and support of Iraqi units. It also called for an energetic effort to seek a diplomatic solution to Iraq’s violence by engaging its neighbors, including Iran and Syria. Bush has opposed direct talks with Iran until it halts uranium enrichment, preferring to let the Iraqis have direct talks with Tehran.
