Amid a surge in US soldier deaths and under increasing pressure to change course in Iraq, President George W. Bush has met with top military commanders to mull possible adjustments to US strategy, the White House said.

Bush held talks with General John Abizaid, the top commander in the Middle East; General George Casey, the US commander in Iraq; Vice President Dick Cheney; Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld; national security adviser Stephen Hadley; deputy national security adviser Jack Crouch; and US ambassador to Iraq Zalmay Khalilzad, according to Nicole Guillemard, a White House spokeswoman.

Guillemard said Saturday's top-level meeting, with Casey and Khalilzad participating via video link from Baghdad, was part of ongoing talks on Iraq policy and prospects.

This meeting was the third in a series of consultations between the US president and his commanders in the field on Iraq.

"The participants focused on the nature of the enemy, the challenges in Iraq, how to better pursue our strategy and the stakes of succeeding for the region and the security of the American people," the spokeswoman said.

The New York Times reported on its website late on Saturday that the United States planned to give the Iraqi Government a timetable to address sectarian violence and get a handle on the security situation, and it will threaten penalties if the Iraqis fail to reach US-established benchmarks.

Citing unnamed senior US officials, the newspaper said the blueprint is to be presented to Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki before the end of the year.

The White House meeting came amid growing calls for Bush to change his strategy in Iraq, less than three weeks before legislative elections in which the Iraq situation is a key issue for voters.

Opposition Democrats hope to take advantage of dwindling support for Bush's Iraq policy to gain control of Congress and have strongly called for a dramatic change of course in US Iraq policy, including a pullout.

In his weekly radio address on Saturday, Bush rejected the idea that the United States was considering withdrawing from Iraq but added that it was "constantly adjusting" its tactics.

"There is one thing we will not do: We will not pull our troops off the battlefield before the mission is complete," Bush said.

He acknowledged the October toll but attributed the surge in violence to more active operations by US troops as well as "a sophisticated propaganda strategy" pursued by insurgents.

"We will continue to be flexible and make every necessary change to prevail in this struggle," Bush said.

However, nearly two in three Americans say the United States is losing the battle to establish security and democracy in Iraq, according to a Newsweek poll published on Saturday.

Fifty-four per cent of those surveyed by Newsweek believe Bush made the wrong decision in invading Iraq in 2003, while 39 per cent think he made the right decision.

And 31 per cent say the situation in Iraq will be the subject weighing on their minds the most when they vote in the November 7 midterm elections, according to the October 19-20 poll of 1,000 people.

Among the few options available for the United States in Iraq, if it does not undertake a sweeping strategy revision, is to revise the US army's approach to its ongoing campaign to bring security to Baghdad.

Source: China Daily