AL-ASAD AIR BASE, Iraq, Sept 3, 2007 (AFP) - US President George W Bush paid a surprise visit to Iraq on Monday for a "war council" meeting ahead of a crucial report to Congress on Washington's strategy in the war-torn nation.
The trip coincided with the withdrawal of British troops from their last base in the southern city of Basra amid tensions between Washington and its top ally Britain over their policy in Iraq.
"This is the last big gathering of the president's military advisors and the Iraqi leadership before the president decides on the way forward," said Geoff Morrell, a Pentagon spokesman.
The White House is to make a formal report to Congress by September 15 aimed at convincing US lawmakers to continue funding the Iraq war, four and a half bloody years since the US-led invasion of 2003.
Bush arrived at the desert air base of Al-Asad in the restive western province of Anbar along with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and national security adviser Stephen Hadley.
Waiting for him were US 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.
"He's assembled essentially his war council here and they are all meeting with Iraqi leaders to discuss the way forward," Morrell said.
It was Bush's first visit to Iraq since June 2006, which followed the killing by US forces of the then leader of Al-Qaeda in Iraq, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, and his third since the invasion.
He is due to meet Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, under fire at home and abroad for failing to bring stability to Iraq, and other top officials as well as tribal sheikhs who have recently joined the fight against Al-Qaeda.
The conclave comes just days before Petraeus and US Ambassador Ryan Crocker go before a sceptical Congress to report on whether a buildup in US forces has succeeded in setting the conditions for political reconciliation.
Opposition Democrats who control the House of Representatives and Senate have been pushing for months to force a deadline for US troops to leave.
But Bush and his generals have argued for time to make the so-called troop "surge" work after the US military deployed tens of thousands of extra soldiers in February to try to end the violence.
Travelling to Anbar rather than Baghdad gave Bush an opportunity to highlight the dramatic shift in sentiment in the province, where former Sunni insurgents have joined with US forces to fight Al-Qaeda.
But security officials said two car bombs went off in Anbar's provincial capital of Ramadi, killing four people and wounding 10, shortly before Bush arrived.
His visit came just hours after 500 British troops slipped out of their last base in Basra under cover of darkness, leaving behind a city in the grip of a brutal militia turf war.
"The operation to leave the Basra Palace has now been completed successfully," a British defence ministry spokesman told AFP.
Iraqi soldiers were seen hoisting the Iraqi flag and posting guards outside the palace complex and General Mohan Farhad, commander of Basra military operations, said it would remain under Iraqi military control until Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki decides its fate.
"The Iraqi army has now taken over responsibility and the area is off-limits. No one can approach except those who are authorised," he told AFP.
The evacuation of troops from Saddam Hussein's former palace on the banks of the Shatt al-Arab waterway to a desert airbase west of Basra paves the way for a full British handover of security in the region to Iraqi authorities, which could take place in the autumn.
Prime Minister Gordon Brown stressed that British forces stood ready to "reintervene" if the security situation demanded, telling BBC radio: "This is a pre-planned and this is an organised move."
Residents of Basra cheered the withdrawal, despite warnings the city could descend further into chaos.
"We are happy to be rid of the British. They were harassing us in the streets and raided our houses and arrested our sons. We now want to see them out of greater Basra," said army officer Sadoun Hami.
The United States and Britain have been at odds over Iraq recently, with General Jack Keane, a former vice-chief of staff of the US Army, saying last month there was "frustration" in Washington at the deteriorating security situation in Basra.
On Saturday, General Sir Mike Jackson, the head of the British army during the invasion, also launched a fierce attack on Washington over its handling of Iraq since then.
He branded US post-invasion policy "intellectually bankrupt" and said then defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld, a key architect of the war, was "one of the most responsible for the current situation in Iraq."
There are about 5,500 British troops in Iraq, most of whom are based in and around Basra, although that number is set to drop to around 5,000 by the end of the year.
Almost 160 British soldiers have been killed in Iraq since the invasion.
The International Crisis Group think tank warned in June that the withdrawal would be seen as a victory by the Shiite militiamen who bombard British bases daily and who control much of the city's economic and political life.
"Basra's residents and militiamen view this as not an orderly withdrawal but rather as an ignominious defeat. Today, the city is controlled by militias, seemingly more powerful and unconstrained than before," it said.

09/03/2007 13:54 GMT