"Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki proposed to President George W. Bush in November to withdraw US troops from Baghdad and let the Iraqi government take over security in the capital, a US newspaper reported.
"Citing interviews with several unnamed administration officials, the Washington Post wrote that Maliki made the suggestion in a presentation to Bush on November 30 in Amman, Jordan.
"But soon after, Bush rejected the idea, the paper said.
"Instead, the president opted for a strategy announced this month to deploy an additional 21,500 US troops to Iraq, focusing on quelling sectarian violence in Baghdad and the western al-Anbar province.
"Bush and his senior aides have defended the approach as the best way of supporting Iraq's government but according to the Post's account, the Iraqi prime minister wanted US soldiers to withdraw to the outskirts of the capital and let his own government's forces handle security.
"Maliki's presentation was seen as unrealistic, but a promising sign he was taking a more bold approach to defusing the sectarian bloodshed, a White House official told the paper.
"'We all recognized it was too ambitious," Dan Bartlett, counselor to the president, was quoted as saying.
"The White House did not immediately comment on the story when contacted by AFP.
From Antiwar.com
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