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Success will drive troop levels, Bush says

DAYTON, Ohio, March 27 (UPI) -- Ensuring success in Iraq will help drive any decision on future troop levels in that country, U.S. President George Bush said in Dayton, Ohio, Thursday.

"I will always remember that the progress in Iraq is real, it's substantive, but it is reversible," Bush told a largely military audience at the U.S. Air Force museum. "And so the principle behind my decision on our troop levels will be ensuring that we succeed in Iraq."

Bush said his administration also hopes to complete a "long-term strategic partnership" with Iraq "in the coming months."

The administration says the pact doesn't need congressional approval, while congressional leaders say it does.

"This partnership would help assure Iraqis that political and economic and security cooperation between our nations will endure," Bush said, as well as ensure protection for U.S. troops when the U.N. mandate for multinational forces expires in December.

"(This) partnership would not bind future presidents to specific troop levels," said Bush, addressing concerns raised about the agreement. "This partnership would not establish permanent bases in Iraq."

The Iraqi people "have chosen to stand with America against our common enemies, and it's in our interest that we stand with them," he said.

Sarkozy, Brown hail new Anglo-French era

LONDON, March 27 (UPI) -- British Prime Minister Gordon Brown hailed a closer relationship with France as President Nicholas Sarkozy's visit to London ended Thursday.

Brown upped the ante to an "entente formidable" after Sarkozy said that an "entente amicable" had replaced the "entente cordiale," The Telegraph reported.

"This is a new step in the dynamic relationship between Britain and France," Brown said at a joint news conference after a summit meeting of ministers from both countries. "Together we will tackle the challenges of a new global era."

Sarkozy hailed Brown for winning ratification of the new EU treaty without a referendum. The president urged Britain to become more closely involved in the European Union, pointing to its independence on its own currency, on border controls and on some criminal justice agreements.

The leaders acknowledged some potential disagreements in the near future. They include Sarkozy's desire to make the union a military force, which Britain fears would undermine NATO.

U.S. backs Pakistan's choice for Musharraf

KARACHI , Pakistan, March 27 (UPI) -- U.S. Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte said the United States will honor any choice new Pakistani leaders make concerning President Pervez Musharraf.

Musharraf, who has been a prominent ally to the United States, has seen his power decline substantially in recent months, CNN reported Thursday.

"As far as the question of the status of President Musharraf, he is of course the president of the country, I met with him in that capacity. Any debate ... with regard to his status is something that will have to be addressed by internal Pakistani process. We certainly respect whatever is decided in that regard," Negroponte said.

Negroponte made the statement during a news conference in Karachi while visiting Pakistan, which some Pakistanis said was bad timing.

Clinton outlines job, retraining programs

RALEIGH, N.C., March 27 (UPI) -- Hillary Clinton outlined an economic strategy that would create jobs and retrain people who lost jobs Thursday in her first North Carolina campaign stop.

Sen. Clinton of New York also outlined a program that would provide universal worker adjustment assistant for people who seek new jobs on their own, the Fayetteville Observer reported.

"If you are willing to retrain yourself, we will reward your hard work," the Democratic presidential hopeful told supporters at Wake Community Technical College in Raleigh. "You shouldn't have to produce a pink slip to get retraining for a higher paying job."

Clinton also pushed her desire to create green-collar jobs as well as blue-collar jobs.

She also alluded her "3 a.m. phone call" commercial, saying: "Sometimes the phone rings at 3 a.m. in the White House and it's an economic crisis. And we need a president who is ready and willing and able to answer that call."

Obama criticizes McCain on mortgage stand

GREENSBORO, N.C., March 27 (UPI) -- Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama has sharply criticized GOP contender John McCain for urging restraint on the mortgage crisis.

Campaigning in Greensboro, N.C. Thursday, Sen. Obama of Illinois said Republican Sen. McCain of Arizona would lead the United States down the same path trod for eight years by President George Bush, claiming "that government has no role at all in solving the challenges facing working families," the Los Angeles Times said.

In a Santa Ana, Calif., speech, McCain said that he would welcome ideas on weathering the foreclosure crisis. But, he opposed rewarding banks or small borrowers that have acted irresponsibly.

Obama proposes a fund to help homeowners avoid foreclosure along with a new mortgage tax credit.

Sen. Hillary Clinton of New York, his rival for the Democratic nomination, suggests a $30-billion bailout plan.

Report links Spitzer to 2nd escort service

NEW YORK, March 27 (UPI) -- A spokeswoman for former New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer denied a report Thursday he patronized an escort service whose alleged madam was arrested this week.

The New York Post story is untrue, the spokeswoman told NY1.

The Post cited "law enforcement sources" who said financial records showed Spitzer was a client of Wicked Models. Kristin Davis, who allegedly ran the service out of an apartment in Manhattan, pleaded not guilty to promoting prostitution and money laundering earlier this week.

Spitzer resigned after he was publicly identified as a client of another escort service based in New Jersey.

One of the Post's sources said that Davis "personally interfaced" with Spitzer and allegedly made millions of dollars running several high-priced prostitution services.