WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Iraq's U.S. governor, Paul Bremer, returned abruptly to Washington on Tuesday for a White House meeting seen as a decision-making session as the Bush administration considers changes in its postwar approach to the country.
"When decisions need to be made, Bremer comes. Some decisions need to be made," one U.S. official told Reuters.
The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said there was no expectation Bremer would be leaving his post.
Bremer's return for what officials called "consultations" comes amid growing frustration in Washington with the U.S.-appointed Iraqi Governing Council and what some officials say is increasing friction with Bremer himself.
With a recent surge in attacks on U.S.-led forces occupying Iraq, local people cooperating with them and international organizations, Washington has been seeking ways to reduce the U.S. presence and defuse hostility by shifting more control to Iraqis.
Bremer left Baghdad for Washington on short notice and canceled a meeting on Tuesday with visiting Polish Prime Minister Leszek Miller, the Polish delegation in Baghdad said.
A senior administration official confirmed Bremer's meeting at the White House was over but declined to provide details. Bremer is "working with the governing council," was all he would say.
President Bush (news - web sites), speaking to the Heritage Foundation think tank on Tuesday, stressed the U.S. goal of establishing a democratic government in Iraq that could be a model for the Middle East.
"Under our strategy, increasing authority is being transferred to the Iraqi people," he said.
The administration is considering changes in the structure and timing of Iraq's transition to self-governance, including possible alternatives to the governing council to ensure the United States will be able to turn over power as troops are withdrawn, the Washington Post reported.
U.S. officials have also been debating whether to reconstitute some units of the old Iraqi army to speed the buildup of indigenous security forces.
Asked on Monday about U.S. unhappiness with the council, spokesman Scott McClellan dismissed that as "speculation."
The U.S. focus is on ensuring the council meet a Dec. 15 U.N. Security Council deadline to set a timetable for drafting a constitution and holding democratic elections, he said.
Other officials told Reuters there was growing friction between Bremer and Washington over Bremer's resistance to accelerating the transfer of authority to Iraqis.
"I think Bremer thinks he can do the job (of stabilizing Iraq and putting it on the road to democracy) better than the Iraqis and you know, he's right," said one senior official.
"But that's not the issue," the official added.
A major foul-up occurred last week when Turkey withdrew its offer to send troops to Iraq after the Iraqi Governing Council made clear its opposition.
One U.S. official, calling the outcome a "debacle," said it was Bremer's Coalition Provisional Authority that was in touch with the Iraqi council and relayed its views to Washington.
Some experts say Bremer opposed Turkish troops in Iraq because it would fuel tensions with Iraqi Kurds. If Washington could not insure Iraqis would accept the Turks, it should never have asked Ankara to approve the deployment, critics say.