US President George W. Bush told a leading Iraqi Shia politician this evening he was not satisfied with the pace of progress in Iraq as he awaited a panel's proposals on how to shift course in the unpopular war.
White House talks with Abdul Aziz al-Hakim, a powerful leader of Iraq's Shia majority, appeared to signal a more direct role by Bush in efforts to curb sectarian violence and stabilize the country, vital for any drawdown of US troops.
The meeting came just two days before Mr Bush, under intense public pressure to overhaul his Iraq policy, was due to receive proposals from a bipartisan Iraq Study Group co-chaired by former Secretary of State James Baker.
Mr Bush told reporters he and Hakim talked about the need for "elected leaders and society leaders to reject the extremists that are trying to stop the advance of this young democracy."
Mr Hakim heads the SCIRI movement, whose armed wing, the Badr Brigade, has been accused of running death squads targeting Iraqi Sunnis, an allegation it denies.
"I appreciated his eminence's strong position against the murder of innocent life," Mr Bush said as he sat beside Hakim in the Oval Office.
"I told him that we're not satisfied with the pace of progress in Iraq and that we want to continue to work with the sovereign government in Iraq to accomplish our mutual objectives, which is a free country that can govern itself, sustain itself and defend itself," he said.
Possibly mindful of US concerns about SCIRI's ties to US foes in Shia Iran, Hakim said Iraq's neighbors should not become involved in the country's affairs.