Iraq strategy should reflect conditions on ground: Bush
By Anwar Iqbal
WASHINGTON, Nov 13: US President George W Bush cautioned opposition Democrats on Monday to consider conditions on the ground while insisting on their demand for a timetable for withdrawing US troops from the war-ravaged country.
“It’s important for people making suggestions to recognise that the best military options depend upon the conditions on the ground,” said Mr Bush while responding to the demand to begin a phased withdrawal of US troops from Iraq within four to six months.
Also on Monday, two of the United States' chief allies, Australia and Britain, and called for dialogue with Iran and Syria on ending the violence in Iraq. British Prime Minister Tony Blair said in London that engaging Syria and Iran in efforts to stem violence in Iraq would also help secure a broader Middle East peace settlement.
Mr Bush was cool to such a move, saying Syria needed to get out of Lebanon and Iran needed to abandon its nuclear ambitions.
He pointed out that the US had offered direct talks with Iran about its nuclear ambitions if it agreed to stop uranium enrichment, which Iran had refused.
"If the Iranians want to have a dialogue with us, we have shown them a way forward, and that is for them to verifiably suspend their enrichment activities," he said.
President Bush made these comments after a meeting at the White House with the Iraq Study Group, a bipartisan panel named by Congress to make recommendations about US policy in Iraq.
He praised the commission for asking him good questions but said "I'm not going to prejudge" the report the panel would issue soon.
