Scramble to rework Iraq plan

Washington: President George W. Bush is overhauling his top diplomatic and military team in Iraq, as the White House scrambles to complete its new war policy package in time for the president to unveil it in a speech to the nation next week, officials said.

But the White House is struggling to overcome deep differences among advisers over both the deployment of additional US troops and whether the government of Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Al Maliki can deliver long-delayed political and military actions, according to officials familiar with the debate.

With significant policy details left to be worked out this weekend, the administration is nonetheless moving ahead on several personnel changes.

It is set to announce that Army Lt Gen David Petraeus, who gained fame for his early success in training Iraqi troops and securing a volatile city in northern Iraq, will replace Gen. George Casey as commander of the multinational forces in Iraq, officials say.

The administration also intends to nominate Admiral William Fallon to head Central Command, replacing Gen John Abizaid. Some military officials consider Fallon an unusual choice, because he is a naval officer in charge of Pacific Command with limited experience in the Middle East and would be in charge of two ground wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

On the diplomatic side, the White House will appoint veteran US diplomat Ryan Crocker, the current envoy to Pakistan who began his career in the 1970s in Iraq, as the new ambassador to Baghdad. The controversial current ambassador to Iraq, Zalmay Khalil-zad, will be nominated to become the top US envoy at the United Nations, replacing John Bolton, US officials say.

The president is tentatively set to speak next Wednesday about his new plan for Iraq, with Al Maliki due to unveil his own new security plan a day or two before the Bush speech. Bush spoke for almost two hours with Al Maliki on Thursday by video-conference, half the time just the two of them with translators. Al Maliki pledged to Bush that he will announce the deployment of three additional Iraqi army brigades to help secure Baghdad, US officials said.