U.S. President George W. Bush is set to begin new consultations Monday on strategy in Iraq after a week in which current Iraq policy came under attack in a report by the bipartisan Iraq Study Group. Bush will start with a visit Monday to the State Department for closed meetings with officials, followed by a public statement on the discussions and meetings with top outside experts in the Oval Office. On Tuesday, he will have a video-conference with military commanders and U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Zalmay Khalilzad. Then on Wednesday he will head to the Pentagon. The consultations come after a bruising week for Bush administration Iraq policy. The group headed by former Secretary of State James Baker and former Representative Lee Hamilton described the situation in Iraq as grave and deteriorating. In 79 recommendations, the commission also called for an about turn in U.S. strategy, including greater focus on training Iraqi troops and U.S. diplomatic engagement with Iran and Syria. The White House says Bush is aiming to unveil his new approach in a speech to the nation before Christmas. But the nature of the new approach remains in questions. Some speculate that the president may use the political cover offered by the group s report to dial down troop numbers and reverse course. But early signs suggest Bush remains unwilling to engage in talks with Syria and Iran. Bush has also distanced himself from the study s recommendation that most combat troops be withdrawn by 2008 in an attempt to force leaders of Iraqi government factions into reconciliation. The president stressed Thursday that troop withdrawals will be solely contingent on conditions on the ground, and advice from military commanders. And while the group s report has been long awaited in Washington, the White House has commissioned a number of other reviews and it is expected to wait for their conclusions before announcing new policy. There are other recommendations and suggestions and analyses coming his way in the very near future. It s his job ... to try to come up with the best complex of policies, said White House spokesman Tony Snow.
