President Bush made a surprise visit to Iraq today for a top-level meeting with US and Iraqi leaders and to help shore up support for his decision to reinforce US troop levels in the country.

The President stopped over in Iraq on his way to an Asia-Pacific leaders' summit in Sydney, but the list of those accompanying him demonstrated that this was no mere courtesy call. It comes before a showdown with Congress next week over whether Mr Bush's decision in January to send 30,000 extra troops to Iraq to stabilise the security situation in Iraq has worked.

After a secret 11-hour flight from Andrews Air Force Base, Mr Bush arrived at a military base in the desert in Anbar province, west of Baghdad, accompanied by his most senior aides, including Condoleezza Rice, the Secretary of State, and National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley.

Waiting for him at the al-Asad base were his Defence Secretary, Robert Gates, General Peter Pace, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral William Fallon, the commander of US forces in the Middle East, and General David Petraeus, the top US commander in Iraq.

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Mr Bush's visit was significant for where he did not go - namely Baghdad

Martin Fletcher

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"This is the last big gathering of the President’s military advisers and the Iraqi leadership before the President decides on the way forward," said Geoff Morrell, a Pentagon spokesman.

Next week, General David Petraeus, the top US commander in Iraq, and Ryan Crocker, the US ambassador, testify before Congress. Their assessment of the conflict, along with a progress report the White House must give Congress by September 15, will determine the next chapter of the conflict.

The United States cannot sustain the troop build-up indefinitely. And with Democrats calling for withdrawals and a rising U.S. death toll that has topped 3,700, the President is hard pressed to give Nour al-Maliki, the Iraqi Prime Minister, much more time to find a political solution to the fighting.

Today's trip was kept secret for obvious security reasons, although speculation about the trip arose late last month when First Lady Laura Bush said she was staying home to tend to a pinched nerve in her neck.

Mr Bush, who also went to Iraq at Thanksgiving 2003 and in June 2006, had been scheduled to leave for Australia today, but Air Force One took off from Andrews Air Force Base last night instead.

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