Washington: "US President George W. Bush has put off unveiling his new Iraq strategy until January, said the White House.  

No date has been set for when Bush will talk about 'the way forward' in Iraq, his chief spokesman Tony Snow said yesterday (Dec12, 2006).

"That is not going to happen until the new year," Snow told reporters. 

One reason for the delay was to allow incoming Defence Secretary Robert Gates to join the cabinet and get up to speed on Iraq, top US officials said. Gates, a former CIA director, is due to replace Iraq war architect Donald Rumsfeld, who quit last month. His swearing-in is set for Monday.

Bush met Iraq's Sunni Vice President Tariq al-Hashemi Tuesday as part of an effort to reach out to leaders in Iraq to encourage them to take stronger steps towards halting sectarian violence that has brought the country to the verge of all-out civil war. 

Both leaders emphasised that the only option was to stabilise the security and environment and bolster the strength of Iraq's democratic government. 

"I share (Bush's) views and aspirations that there is no way but success in Iraq, we have no other option in Iraq but to achieve success," al-Hashemi said, adding there was still a chance to get his country out of its 'present dilemma'. 

"There is a light in the corridor," he said. Bush also had a video conference with US military commanders in Iraq, which included a"vigorous discussion" of possible options as US strategy moves ahead, Snow said. 

The conference included Rumsfeld, Gates, General John Abizaid, the top commander of US forces in the Middle East, and the US commander in Iraq, General George Casey. 

"Our objective is to help the Iraqi government deal with the extremists and killers and support the vast majority of Iraqis who are reasonable people who want peace," Bush said. 

Bush discussed Iraq with officials at the State Department Monday and received a briefing on the reconstruction effort in various regions in Iraq. 

Last week, a panel co-chaired by former US secretary of state James Baker III recommended that the US start pulling back its 140,000 soldiers in Iraq into support roles, re-launch Middle East peacemaking and seek talks with Syria and Iran.

Snow, however, played down the recommendations of the Baker panel, which was co-led by former US Congressman Lee Hamilton.

"The touchstone is not the Baker-Hamilton commission. It's the situation in Iraq. And it's the situation in the region," Snow said.

His remarks fuelled speculation in US media that Bush may actually decide to boost the number of US troops in Iraq in the short term to combat the violence.