Bush reiterates support for Iraqi government

U.S. President George W. Bush told Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki on Monday that he had no plans to pull U.S. forces out of the country, the White House said.

During a 15-minute phone call with al-Maliki, Bush also told the Iraqi leader to ignore rumors that a deadline (of pulling troops) would be enforced against the fledgling Baghdad government, said White House spokesman Tony Snow.

"He said that rumors sometimes can undercut confidence in the government and also its ability to work effectively in fighting terror," Snow said.

Observers have noticed that Bush's pledge to continue to support the al-Maliki government was made when casualties in Iraq were increasing amid almost daily violence which has eroded support for the war in the United States.

At least 110 people reportedly died on Saturday and Sunday in a surge of violence across Iraq.

More than 2,752 U.S. soldiers have died and 20,895 wounded in Iraq since the war broke out in March 2003, according U.S official reports.

"Some U.S. lawmakers are calling for a new strategy in Iraq, including two leading Republican senators who spoke out Sunday on television talk shows.

"The American people are not going to continue to support, sustain a policy that puts American troops in the middle of a civil war," Sen. Chuck Hagel said on CNN television's "Late Edition."

Hagel said he agreed with Sen. John Warner, the Republican chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, who asserted after a recent visit to Iraq that the war-torn country was "drifting sideways."

Warner has urged the consideration of a change of course if the Iraqi government fails to restore order over the next two or three months.

Source: Xinhua