President Bush will meet with British Prime Minister Tony Blair on Thursday, the day after receiving the recommendations of a special commission exploring options in Iraq.
"The president looks forward to continuing discussions with the prime minister on strengthening democracy in Iraq and Afghanistan, advancing peace and security in the Middle East, preventing Iran from obtaining the means to build nuclear weapons, ending the genocide in Darfur, and promoting free and fair trade," the White House said in a statement.
On Sunday, Bush’s national security adviser said the president’s war policy has not failed.
Stephen Hadley also said that while Bush recognizes that something different needs to be done, he won’t use the recommendations due this week from the Iraq Study Group as political cover for bringing troops home.
The White House was preparing for an important week: Bush planned to meet Monday with Abdul-Aziz al-Hakim, the Shiite leader of the largest bloc in Iraq’s parliament, and the recommendations from the bipartisan commission are to be released Wednesday.
“We have not failed in Iraq,” Hadley said as he made the talk show rounds. “We will fail in Iraq if we pull out our troops before we’re in a position to help the Iraqis succeed.”
He added: “The president understands that we need to have a way forward in Iraq that is more successful.”