NY Times -November 12, 2003

By RICHARD W. STEVENSON

WASHINGTON, Nov. 11 — L. Paul Bremer III, the American administrator in Iraq, made a hurried return to Washington on Tuesday as Bush administration officials held an urgent round of meetings to discuss ways of speeding up the transfer of power to Iraqis.

The meetings reflected dissatisfaction with the pace of progress in Iraq and a growing conviction that Mr. Bremer must abandon his methodical plan to move gradually toward the election of an Iraqi government over a year or two, officials said.

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... Several administration officials said there was no evidence that Mr. Bush had lost confidence in Mr. Bremer, although the president wants him to move more quickly.

But Mr. Bremer's visit had an unusually urgent air. To be here, he had to break an appointment in Baghdad with Leszek Miller, the prime minister of Poland, the only country other than Britain to contribute substantial numbers of troops to the occupying force.

U.S. rethinking timetable for Iraq sovereignty

MSNBC -November 11

...Bremer spent part of the day at the White House, where he apparently met with senior foreign policy officials who included Vice President Dick Cheney, Secretary of State Colin Powell, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and CIA Director George Tenet. He did not meet with President Bush, although officials said he might do so before he returned to Baghdad.

Iraqi mayor backed by US is killed in dispute with guard

Independent UK -12 November 2003

The American-nominated mayor of a volatile Shia Muslim section of Baghdad has been killed in a confrontation with Unites States troops, dealing a serious blow to efforts by the occupation authorities to win the trust of the local population.

The death of Mohened Ghazi al-Kaby, 29, head of an interim council in Sadr City whose members were hand-picked by US officials...

CIA: Iraq security to get worse

CNN -November 11

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- A recent CIA assessment of Iraq warns the security situation will worsen across the country, not just in Baghdad but in the north and south as well, a senior administration source told CNN Tuesday.

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