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Bush arrives in Kuwait, receives Iraq war briefings

US President George W. Bush turned yesterday from Middle East peacemaking to the Iraq war, hearing from his top advisers in the theater as he looks toward a new assessment that will be closely watched for whether more US troops can start coming home.

Bush's motorcade took a long ride down deserted highways in the chilly early morning to arrive at this sprawling, dusty brown US military base, the largest in Kuwait and home to 9,000 US troops.

He received a briefing from General David Petraeus, the top US commander in Iraq, and the US Ambassador to Iraq, Ryan Crocker, who is pressing Iraq's government to make progress on long-delayed political reconciliation. Bush huddled with them in a conference room of the base's command operations information center, which is manned by a team of intelligence specialists monitoring battle developments on computers. Three huge screens dominated the room, showing pictures of the Horn of Africa, Iraq, the broader Middle East and Afghanistan.

Petraeus and Crocker are due to give Congress a new update on the war in March. After their report in September, Bush announced he would withdraw some troops from Iraq by July -- essentially the 30,000 sent as part of a buildup ordered a year ago -- but still keep the US level there at about 130,000. Bush also was addressing troops while at Camp Arifjan.

En route to Kuwait on Friday, the US dampened hopes for swift agreement on a Middle East peace deal, as Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice cautioned against expecting a "blinding flash" of Arab backing for cooperation with Israel, their historic enemy.

Bush began the next chapter of his eight-day Middle East journey here, the first of five Arab countries on an itinerary aimed at pressing them to support Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas in any deal he strikes with Israel. Bush landed after two days of talks in Israel and the Palestinian-governed West Bank.

Traveling with the president, Rice said, "There will be a period of time, undoubtedly, in which the two sides continue to be very far apart."

But, she said, "There is reason to be hopeful that they can make a major move to end the conflict."

Bush will notify Congress tomorrow of his intent to sell US$20 billion in weapons, including precision-guided bombs, to Saudi Arabia, moving up the announcement to coincide with the president's arrival in Riyadh, a senior official said in Washington. The official announcement will kick off a 30-day review period during which Congress could try to block the sale, which has raised concern among some lawmakers.

Arriving at the airport in Kuwait, the president got a ceremonial red-carpet welcome and was presented with a bouquet of flowers. But he saw nothing like the torrent of public adulation showered on his father in a visit 15 years ago.

The tiny, oil-rich nation at the top of the Persian Gulf was invaded by Iraq's Saddam Hussein and liberated by a US-led war ordered by Bush's father in 1991. Now, Kuwait is a major hub for US troops and equipment deployed to Iraq.

At a palace surrounded by palm trees, Bush met with the emir, Sheik Sabah al Ahmed al Sabah. He told Bush he was delighted to have him in Kuwait.

"We are equally delighted to see you working on issues that are very important to all of us here," Sheik Sabah said.

It was not clear what issues he meant.

Like other Gulf Arab nations, Kuwait is nervous about tensions between the US and Iran, and uneasy with the rise of Tehran. Kuwaitis also fear sectarian violence in Iraq could spill over their border.
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