Bush welcome new ideas about the Iraq War

Source: CCTV.com | 11-13-2006 15:14

In the United States, political talk shows have focused on the fallout from Tuesday's elections where Democrats won control of the US Congress. The democrats have been pushing for the withdrawal of US troops in Iraq. The White House said that President George W. Bush would welcome new ideas about the Iraq War. However, they said the administration opposes a Democratic timetable for bringing US troops home.

Democratic National Committee Chairman and 2004 presidential candidate, Howard Dean outlined the priorities for his party on Fox News Sunday.

Chairman of Democratic National Committee Howard Dean said: "We need to work with the president to get ourselves out of Iraq. But everybody in America understands that we cannot stay. Keeping 140,000 brave Americans in Iraq is not making America safer."

However, the White House said that Bush is open to new ideas, but would not be receptive to strategies involving a fixed timetable to pull US troops out of Iraq.

White House chief of staff Josh Bolten said: "You know, we're willing to talk about anything. I don't think we're going to be receptive to the notion that there's a fixed timetable at which we automatically pull out, because that could be a true disaster for the Iraqi people."

Bush and his national security team are planning to meet with the bipartisan Iraq Study Group. The bipartisan Iraq panel, is expected to report its recommendations by the end of the year. More than 2,800 US troops have been killed in Iraq since the 2003 invasion.

Editor:Wang Ping