Bush and Blair to discuss Iraq's future

President George W. Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair, besieged by complaints about their wartime leadership, meet in the U.S. capital on Thursday and Friday to discuss Iraq's future and the role of their troops there.

Photo: Bush and Blair to discuss Iraq's future

Bush and Blair to discuss Iraq's future

Before the meetings, aides were attempting to tamp down any expectations of troop withdrawal announcements, despite public opposition to the war in both the U.S. and Britain.

Blair also planned to talk about Iraq's plans for an international conference to back its government and would seek Bush's backing for increased U.N. support for Iraq, a British official said.

A joint news conference at the White House was set for 1230 GMT Thursday.

Both Bush and Blair have seen their opinion poll standings drop sharply and are under pressure to bring home some of their soldiers. Blair's visit follows a trip to Iraq, where he said coalition troops were in a position to begin handing over control of some Iraqi provinces to local security.

White House press secretary Tony Snow told reporters Wednesday not to expect either leader to say "we're going to be out in one year, two years, four years. I don't think you're going to get any kind of specific prediction of troop withdrawals. I think you're going to get a restatement of the general principles under which coalition troops stay or go."

Blair's office said the talks would not lead to an agreement on a timetable for withdrawal.

Iraq's new prime minister, Nouri al-Maliki, said his forces are capable of taking control of security in all provinces within 18 months, but need more recruits, training and equipment.

Snow said Maliki is "a very aggressive, take-charge kind of guy" whom the United States can work with to get Iraqi forces trained as quickly as possible.

"At this point, everybody's taking the measure of the new government," Snow said. "What is going to happen, I think it's very safe to say, is that increasingly American, British and other coalition forces are going to move into support roles as Iraqi forces themselves move into lead roles,"reports the AP.

I.L.