The chief US administrator in Iraq, Mr Paul Bremer, flew from Baghdad to Washington unexpectedly yesterday and went straight to the White House amid reports of turmoil in the Bush administration over security and political setbacks in Iraq.
The sudden return of Mr Bremer, who was in the US only recently, may be timed to allow a high-level policy meeting in Washington before Defence Secretary Mr Donald Rumsfeld leaves today for a week-long trip to Japan and South Korea.
Mr Bremer cancelled a planned meeting with the visiting Polish Prime Minister Mr Leszek Miller in Baghdad at the last minute before heading to Washington without any explanation.
US officials are reported to be embarking on a three-pronged strategy in Iraq, involving a much tougher security policy, the recruitment of Iraqis to fight the insurgency - including soldiers from the disbanded Iraqi army - and an urgent acceleration of the political transition.
Iraq's interim foreign minister, Mr Hoshyar Zubari, created alarm in Washington on Sunday when he warned that if the security situation gets worse the US-appointed Iraqi Governing Council might not meet its December 15th UN-set deadline for a timetable for writing a constitution and holding elections.
Mr Adnan Pachachi, a senior member of the Governing Council, added yesterday: "We've told the Americans we want a hand over of power as soon as possible. Given the current security situation in Iraq, the sooner they do so the better."
In a speech on Iraq yesterday President George Bush said the council "had begun a process that will lead to a new constitution", but did not mention elections.
There is intense speculation that the US is now under pressure to transfer sovereignty to a provisional government before elections, to encourage Iraqis to tackle the insurgency themselves.
US officials have criticised the performance of the 25-member council which is itself pressing for the status of provisional government This week the senior White House official responsible for overseeing the political transition, Mr Robert Blackwill, was sent to Baghdad to warn members of the council it could become redundant if it did not meet its deadlines, according to the Washington Post.
Meanwhile, some 25 Congress Democrats have signed a resolution urging President Bush to fire Mr Rumsfeld as criticism mounts over post-war planning.
In a speech to the heritage Foundation in Washington to mark Veterans' Day, Mr Bush said that the "terrorists" and "Saddam holdouts" were resisting only in Baghdad and five of the 10 provinces of Iraq.
He said coalition forces had conducted 1,500 raids in the last month, bringing about the "capture or death of more than 1,000 killers". Mr Bush also stated that there were now 700 soldiers in a new Iraqi army which would be 35,000 strong by the end of next year. "Under our strategy increasing authority is being transferred to the Iraqi people," he said. "We will finish the mission we have begun - period."