Bush's Iraq fresh start to include new team

Washington: US President George W. Bush is planning to name a new ambassador and will likely pick new military commanders for Iraq as he prepares a new strategy in the country.

The changes are part of a major realignment of administration personnel as Bush seeks to adjust his approach to Iraq, where nearly four years of a large US military presence has failed to bring stability and an end to violence.

The current US ambassador to Pakistan, Ryan Crocker, is expected to replace Zalmay Khalilzad in Baghdad as US ambassador to Iraq. Khalilzad is expected to be nominated to be the next US ambassador to the United Nations, senior US officials said on Thursday.

ABC News said Bush was expected to nominate Admiral William Fallon, the top US military commander in the Pacific, to replace General John Abizaid as the head of US Central Command, which is in charge of US military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.

And, Lt. Gen. David Petraeus was expected to become the top ground commander in Iraq, replacing General George Casey, ABC said, citing unnamed officials.

The Pentagon declined to comment on the ABC report.

But there is little expectation that changing faces will mean a radical shift in policy called for by some opposition Democrats, who took control of the US Congress on Thursday after an election dominated by the Iraq debate.

Bush is giving top consideration to a short-term increase in US troops to Baghdad but refused to say on Thursday if it would be in the plan he will announce next week. He has shown little inclination to set a timetable to withdraw the 132,000 American service-members now in Iraq.

"I'm in the process of making up my final decision as to what to recommend, what recommendations to accept," Bush said at the White House after talks with German Chancellor Angela Merkel. "One thing is for certain, I will want to make sure that the mission is clear and specific and can be accomplished."

Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi, who on Thursday became first woman speaker of the US House of Representatives, said November elections that brought her party to power in the US Congress meant Americans wanted a change of direction.

"It is the responsibility of the president to articulate a new plan for Iraq that makes it clear to the Iraqis that they must defend their own streets and their own security, a plan that promotes stability in the region and a plan that allows us to responsibly redeploy our troops," she said in her inaugural speech.

Bush is also shuffling other pieces of his national security team. He is preparing to announce that John Negroponte, director of national intelligence, will become the No. 2 official at the State Department and will be replaced by retired Vice Admiral. Michael McConnell.

The appointments will have to be confirmed by the Senate.