BAGHDAD, Oct. 30 (UPI) -- President Bush's national security adviser, Stephen Hadley, went to Iraq Monday on what the administration said was a long-planned visit.
Dana Perino, a spokeswoman for the president, told reporters that news reports of difficulties in the relationship between the United States and the government of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki are "overblown." She denied that Hadley was in Baghdad to mend fences.
"With the president (Bush) out of town this week, it's a good time for him to go, as part of our ongoing assessments and continued cooperation to get Iraq to be a democratically led country that can govern, sustain and defend itself, and become an ally in the war on terror," she said.
The president is doing last-minute campaigning for some Republican congressional candidates in tight races around the country.
Perino said she could not give details about Hadley's movements for security reasons.
