President George W. Bush assured Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki on Monday that the United States had not set any deadline for his government to get control of sectarian violence, the White House said.
Maliki raised his concerns about a timeline, saying rumours could undercut confidence in the Iraqi government, during a 15-minute telephone call initiated by Bush, White House spokesman Tony Snow said.
"The president underscored his commitment to a democratically elected government of Iraq, encouraging the prime minister to ignore rumours that the United States government was seeking to impose a timeline on the Maliki government," Snow said.
In the weeks before November 7 congressional elections, some top Republicans have begun to express dissatisfaction with the direction in Iraq, where sectarian violence has raised fears that the country is sinking into an all-out civil war.
The Iraq war, in which about 2,750 American troops and tens of thousands of Iraqis have been killed, has dragged down Bush's popularity before the elections in which his Republican Party is fighting to keep control of Congress.
It was unclear where the rumours were generated, but Maliki may have been referring to comments by Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman John Warner, a Virginia Republican, who said the United States might have to consider a change of course if the Iraqi government fails to restore order within two or three months.
Another senior Republican, Sen. Chuck Hagel of Nebraska, on Sunday said he agreed with Warner's assessment. "Our options are limited. The American people are not going to continue to support, sustain a policy that puts American troops in the middle of a civil war," Hagel said on CNN's "Late Edition."
Democrats, who have long called for a change of direction in Iraq, have stepped up criticism of the Bush administration's conduct of the war. With three weeks left in the US election campaign, pollsters and analysts see growing public discontent with the Iraq war as a top obstacle for Republicans.
Bush assured Maliki that the United States had not set any deadline for withdrawing support for the Iraqi leader's government, Snow said. "The president understands, I think Prime Minister Maliki understands, that the ultimate end state is to have the Iraqis in charge of everything, and therefore the president is supporting Prime Minister Maliki's efforts to go after militias and terrorists and to do it in many different ways - political, economic and also military," Snow said.
"What the prime minister did say is he feels confident that in fact the situation is going to turn," he said. A panel co-chaired by James Baker, a former Secretary of State with ties to the Bush family, is reviewing US policy on Iraq and expected to make recommendations after the election.
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