ROUNDUP: Bush draws al-Maliki to Anbar to show example of success

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In a surprise visit to Iraq, US President George W Bush Monday drew the top officials of the Iraqi national government to Anbar Province to show them how Sunni tribes have joined US forces to fight terrorist groups.

The visit was well chosen by Bush to showcase an example of success in Iraq as an increasingly sceptical US Congress prepares to receive reports on Iraqi progress and to debate the future course of the war.

Bush met with Prime Minister Nuri Al-Maliki, a Shiite, and other top officials early Monday, where they had "good frank discussion," Bush said in remarks to the press broadcast on CNN.

"They're here in Anbar because they know success in Anbar depends on the Iraqi government support," Bush said.

Al-Maliki's currency with US Congress has been waning as the months drag on without a reconciliation agreement in the national government. Even Bush has expressed frustration with his lacking leadership and there have been calls for al-Maliki's resignation in Washington.

Minority Sunnis charge that the majority Shiite leader has used his power to wreak revenge against the repression of the Saddam Hussein years.

Over the past year, Sunni tribe leaders in Anbar have stopped siding with the al-Qaeda terrorist and Sunni insurgent forces and begun working with US troops to provide security.

But al-Maliki has reportedly refused to go and have a first-hand look in Anbar until Monday, when Bush drew him there.

In addition to appealing to Iraqi unity, Bush also addressed his remarks to the American audience and members of Congress, urging them to listen to what the commanding general in Iraq, David Petraeus, and US Ambassador to Iraq Ryan Crocker have to say in Washington later this month.

"It's vital we work to bring America together behind a common vision for Iraq," Bush said.

Bush travelled with his top advisors - Secretary of Defence Robert Gates, Joint Chiefs of Staff head Peter Pace and US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.

Bush said that Petraeus and Crocker have told him that "if the kind of success we're now seeing (in Anbar) continues, it will be possible to maintain the same level of security with fewer American forces."

The US president also noted that al-Maliki's government is now sharing oil revenues with the Sunni-dominated Anbar, adding: "That's a positive development."

"I know the pace of progress is frustrating for the American people, for the Iraqi people," Bush said.

He said however it was important for the Iraqi national government to "follow up" on Anbar's success and learn from how it came about.

Bush stopped in Iraq on his way to an economic summit in Sydney, Australia dpa pr