Iraq rethink sees Bush shuffle pack

The White House today announced a shuffling of US military leaders in the Iraq war today as Congress' new Democratic chiefs criticised plans President George W Bush is considering to boost US troop strength in the war zone.

Bush will nominate Adm William Fallon, who commands American forces in the Pacific, to replace Gen John Abizaid as top US commander in the Middle East.

Bush will nominate Army Lt Gen David Petraeus, who headed the effort to train Iraqi security forces, to replace Gen George Casey as top American general in Iraq.

Casey in turn will replace the retiring Gen Peter Schoomaker as Army chief of staff.

"The president has accepted these recommendations and will be forwarding the nominations and he's pleased to do so," White House press secretary Tony Snow said.

The appointments, which will have to be confirmed by the Senate, represent a visible demonstration of Bush's desire to shift gears in Iraq. The changes come just days before the president plans to announce a new strategy in the war, now nearly four years old, in which more than 3,000 US troops have been killed.

Bush's new strategy is expected to entail new political, military and economic steps. The military approach, which has attracted the most attention and scepticism from Congress, is expected to include an increase in US forces, possibly 9,000 additional troops deployed to the Baghdad capital alone.

There are about 140,000 US troops in Iraq.

In a further change, Bush will also nominate Ryan Crocker, a veteran American diplomat now US envoy to Pakistan, to replace Zalmay Khalilzad as the US ambassador to Iraq. Khalilzad will be named ambassador to the United Nations, according to a senior Bush administration official.

Both Abizaid and Casey have expressed qualms in recent weeks about boosting US forces in Iraq. Abizaid said an increase of 20,000 could not be sustained for long by the overburdened American military, and Casey said such a boost should be used only to advance US strategic goals.

Even as the White House announced Bush's plans, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and House leader Nancy Pelosi released a letter to him today urging him to begin pulling troops out of Iraq in four to six months.

They also asked the president to begin shifting the mission of US forces there from combat to training and logistical support of the Iraqis.

"We are well past the point of more troops for Iraq," Pelosi and Reid wrote a day after their party took control of Congress from Bush's Republican party.

The Democrats' criticism of a troop buildup was not new. But the letter underscored a new reality for Bush: With the new congressional leadership, his Iraq policy will be challenged at every turn by lawmakers.

Each of the personnel changes comes on the heels of Defence Secretary Robert Gates replacing Donald H. Rumsfeld, the architect of the unpopular war.

Besides ushering in new personnel, Bush was today discussing his plans for the Iraq war privately with more than a dozen senators and House members, a list that includes some of his biggest critics, as well as his most ardent supporters.

Briefings with lawmakers were expected to continue through next week, culminating in a meeting with bipartisan leadership on Wednesday, according to lawmakers and aides.

Bush has also decided to shift John Negroponte, national intelligence director, to the State Department to become number two to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.

Replacing Negroponte would be retired Vice Adm. Mike McConnell, a veteran of more than 25 years in intelligence.