SYDNEY, Sept 4, 2007 (AFP) - US President George W. Bush will Wednesday huddle with Australian Prime Minister John Howard, a close ally, one week before making a key progress report to wary US lawmakers on the war in Iraq.
The meeting with one of the most ardent supporters of Bush's Iraq policy was set to take place less than a day after the president's arrival in Sydney where he will attend the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit.
The US president, fresh from a surprise visit to Iraq where he hinted at a potential reduction in US troops as he comes under intense political pressure at home, is expected to discuss the hot-button issue with Howard.
Bush will head back to Washington in the middle of this weekend's APEC summit to prepare for a White House report on progress in restoring security in war-riven Iraq.
Howard, who faces a tough re-election bid later this year, insisted that Australia would not reduce its small contingent of soldiers in Iraq even if Washington cuts its numbers.
"We don't intend to pull our battle groups out of southern Iraq. We see it continuing to do very valuable work," he told reporters on Tuesday.
"I think we have to and should maintain that position until we are satisfied there has been a sufficient material improvement in the capacity of the Iraqis overall to look after themselves."
Bush has dubbed his friend Howard a "man of steel" for his steady commitment to the Iraq campaign.
But Bush was also scheduled to hold talks Thursday with Australian opposition leader Kevin Rudd, who has said he will pull Australian troops from Iraq by mid-2008 if elected prime minister.
"I'll remind him (Rudd) that, as far as I'm concerned, that leaving Iraq before the job is done will cause an enemy that attacked us before to become emboldened," Bush told reporters last week.
"I will remind him that the best way to conduct policy is based upon conditions on the ground; that success is important, that conditions ought to be driving troop deployments," he added.
Rudd has a strong lead over Howard in opinion polls, with an election expected within the next three months. Howard is running for his fifth consecutive term as prime minister.
"It's time for there to be an exit strategy for Australian combat troops," Rudd told reporters on Saturday, adding that he would deliver that message to Bush.
Australia has about 1,500 troops committed to the Iraq war but many of these are based in nearby countries. About 515 troops, including an infantry company, are part of Australia's battle group based in Tallil in the south.
The United States has around 160,000 troops in Iraq.
The trip to Australia came as White House officials privately worried about Britain's decision to pull its troops out of the Iraqi city of Basra to a nearby base and looked nervously at Australia's public opinion polls.
While in Sydney, the US president was also to meet with Chinese President Hu Jintao on Thursday and hold separate talks Friday with South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Also on Friday, Bush was to meet with leaders from the seven Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries that are also APEC members.
On Saturday, he will meet with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and with Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono before attending official APEC events and then leaving for Washington late in the day.
During Bush's swoop into Iraq, he met US Commander General David Petraeus and the US ambassador to Baghdad, Ryan Crocker, both of whom are due to testify to Congress next week after Bush returns to Washington.
But as Sydney was put under a massive security clampdown to protect Bush and other leaders from attacks and protesters, Howard vowed he would stand by his friend, even in the face of Australian popular opposition to the Iraq war.
"He has his critics," Howard said Monday. "(But) I like him. I find him an intelligent, likeable man to deal with on a personal basis," he said, adding he would "never" walk away from a friend.
"You form a view of somebody and their character and I tend to stick with them."
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09/04/2007 12:05 GMT