WASHINGTON -- President George Bush met with a leading Iraqi Shiite politician at the White House Monday amid speculation of an imminent change of direction in the U.S. approach towards charting Iraq's national destiny. Bush said he told Sayyed Abdul Aziz al-Hakim, the influential leader of SCIRI, the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq, "we're not satisfied with the pace of progress in Iraq." The administration has been gathering proposals from several sources on how to put the democratization of Iraq back on track and accelerate an orderly American withdrawal. One source, the bi-partisan Iraq Study Group is expected to issue its recommendations Wednesday. If recent leaks are correct, the panel headed by former Secretary of State James A. Baker and former Democratic Rep. Lee Hamilton of Indiana will urge the administration to deal directly with Syria and Iran over the situation in Iraq, something Bush has adamantly ruled out in the past.
Iraqi With Ties to Iran Visits White House
