WASHINGTON, March 15 (UPI) -- President Bush and Iraqi Vice President Adil Abd al-Mahdi held talks in the White House Thursday on Iraqi security and national reconciliation efforts.
According to the National Security Council, the discussions in the Oval Office lasted more than 30 minutes.
That meeting, and the brief appearance by the two during a photo opportunity following it, underscored what has become the key focal point in continued U.S. involvement in the country -- benchmarks.
"We are working hard together," said the Iraqi leader. "Our security plan is marking some points. We are not finished, but we are doing better than expected with the plan.
"This will not solve the whole problem; the reconciliation process will take our political agenda forward.
"We are working on many issues - the hydrocarbon bill, which we approved in the Cabinet. We are working on a deBaathification bill and it will be presented later. We are working on so many things," he said.
President Bush early last year began to emphasize an administration effort toward Iraqization of the war that has claimed more than 3,000 American lives. Increasing U.S. public dissatisfaction over the conflict, coupled with recommendations by a bipartisan commission on U.S. policy and anti-war fervor on Capitol Hill has led to a firming up of the benchmark concept, with the president repeatedly stressing the idea in public.
The Iraqi government has layed down a number of benchmarks it has vowed to meet to spur reconciliation among ethnic, political and religious factions to avoid civil war and establish security and maintain continued U.S. involvement. Among them are oil revenue sharing among the various regions of the country and increasing shouldering of security operations.
Democratic proposals on Capitol Hill, including those looking at establishing a time-line for U.S. military presence in Iraq, all feature benchmark triggers for U.S. troop drawdown or withdrawal.
