http://www.usnews.com/usnews/politics/b ... 061129.htm

Wednesday, November 29, 2006
WASHINGTON NEWS

Leak Reveals White House Doubts Maliki

As President Bush prepares to meet with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki in Jordan today, the Administration spent the day yesterday trying to send the message that it remains supportive of Maliki. However, the leak to the New York Timesof a "classified" memo to the President written by his national security advisor appears to have undermined the White House's message. Under the headline "Bush Adviser's Memo Cites Doubts About Iraqi Leader," the Times New York Times reports the memo "expressed serious doubts about whether...Maliki had the capacity to control the sectarian violence in Iraq and recommended that the United States take new steps to strengthen the Iraqi leader's position. The Nov. 8 memo was prepared for Mr. Bush and his top deputies by Stephen J. Hadley, the national security adviser, and senior aides on the staff of the National Security Council after a trip by Mr. Hadley to Baghdad." An "administration official made a copy of the document available to a New York Times reporter seeking information on the administration's policy review. The Times read and transcribed the memo," and this morning makes it available to its readers in its entirety. The White House, says the Times, "has sought to avoid public criticism of Mr. Maliki," and a "senior administration official" stressed that the administration retains confidence in the Iraqi leader. In a front page article on Bush's meeting with Maliki, the Washington Postalso mentions the memo "obtained by the New York Times," and says it "laid bare the doubts about Maliki," adding that the Bush-Maliki relationship "has grown fractious as repeated efforts to curb violence in Baghdad have failed."

The memo has gotten little play outside of those two major newspapers, but it's expected that it will make a big splash on cable and network TV as the day progresses. Other stories out this morning suggest the White House message (expressing support for Maliki) was floundering even before the memo surfaced: A number of media reports suggest US officials and commentators, even the President, hold a dim view of the Iraqi leader's performance. The Washington Post, in fact, reports Bush "hinted at the US government's growing impatience with Maliki" yesterday, "when he said he would query the prime minister about his 'strategy to be a country which can govern itself and sustain itself.'" ABC World News said "US officials more and more express doubt Maliki can stop the violence." The Los Angeles Timessays Maliki feels "frustrated by US accusations that he isn't doing enough," and USA Today, in a story titled "Some Question Whether Al-Maliki Strong Enough," reports "analysts say there is growing evidence that al-Maliki is not up to the formidable task of bringing stability to his country."

More negative coverage on the upcoming summit: The Seattle Timesand Atlanta Journal-Constitutionhighlight the regional challenges to a successful summit, while the New York Times and Wall Street Journalsay the internal turmoil in Iraq and US domestic pressures make both Bush and Maliki weaker as they meet this morning. As if to underscore that point, the New York Timeswrites in an editorial, "Bush needs to make clear that Americans' patience has all but run out and that he will start bringing the troops home unless Mr. Maliki moves to rein in sectarian bloodletting." Focusing on the unending violence in Iraq, the Detroit Free Press runs an interesting feature on the deadly danger faced by US soldiers' patrolling Fallujah, where "even a trip to a portable toilet" is dangerous and "you have to do the sniper dance -- juking and dekeing so no one can get a good aim on you."

Text of U.S. Security Adviser’s Iraq Memo
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/29/world ... ref=slogin

Dixie