Meeting in an atmosphere of deepening crisis, the US President, Mr Bush, and his top foreign policy advisers decided yesterday to accelerate the transfer of political power in Iraq.
Mr Paul Bremer, the US representative in Iraq, said: "The stakes are very high for the war on terrorism and the stakes are very high to moving toward a sovereign Iraqi government. It is a tough situation." The urgent White House talks were called against the background of a leaked secret CIA report which said growing numbers of Iraqis were concluding that the US-led coalition could be defeated and were supporting the insurgents.
An American fixed-wing gunship attacked a facility allegedly used by insurgents in Baghdad last night, killing six Iraqis, said the Pentagon.
Earlier a suicide truck bomber killed at least 17 Italians and eight Iraqis at the HQ of Italy's paramilitary police in Nassiriya in southern Iraq. Two US soldiers were killed by insurgents, and two militants and five unarmed Iraqis were shot dead by coalition forces, making it the bloodiest single day in Iraq since the fall of Baghdad in April.
Mr Bremer said, as he left the White House to return to Baghdad, that he presented proposals to hand over more authority to the US-appointed Iraqi Governing Council and "that is the backdrop for all of these discussions". They were in a "very intense period" coming up to the UN deadline of December 15th to set a timetable for a new constitution and for holding democratic elections in Iraq.
Mr Bremer was recalled at short notice for meetings attended by Mr Bush, Vice President Mr Dick Cheney, Defence Secretary Mr Donald Rumsfeld, Secretary of State Mr Colin Powell and National Security Adviser Ms Condoleezza Rice.
Mr Powell said later that they wanted to accelerate the pace of reform in Iraq and America would remain long enough to put in place a democratic government. When that day came, Mr Powell said, "we will end the role of the Coalition Provisional Authority and we will return to normal relations with the Iraqi state".
One option being considered by the administration is the naming of an interim Iraqi leader with authority to govern the country until a constitution can be written and elections held, an official said.
The secret CIA report, delivered to top officials on Monday and leaked to the Philadelphia Inquirer, warns that the US drive to rebuild Iraq as a democracy could collapse unless corrective actions are taken immediately. It suggests US policy has reached a turning point and none of the post-war Iraqi political institutions and leaders have shown an ability to govern the country or even preside over drafting a constitution or holding an election.
The report is said to warn that aggressive US counter-insurgency tactics could induce more Iraqis to join the guerrilla campaign.