MIGHT HAVE HAD THE MEETING OF THE MINDS A COUPLE YEARS AGO, BUT...:

U.S., Iraq Unified On Way-Forward Policy, Spokesmen Say (Gerry J. Gilmore, 11/30/06, American Forces Press Service)

Today’s meeting between President Bush and Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki in Amman, Jordan, was historic and demonstrated the two leaders’ accord on how to move forward in Iraq, a senior U.S. military officer told reporters at a Baghdad news conference today.

The two senior leaders had a very productive talk on how to best address the current security situation in Iraq, Army Maj. Gen. William Caldwell, a Multinational Force Iraq spokesman, told Ali al-Dabbagh, a senior Iraqi government official who accompanied the general to the briefing. [...]

Bush and Maliki agreed to speed up the transfer of authority and responsibility for security matters in Iraq to the country’s government and its military and police forces, Caldwell said.

Dabbagh echoed Caldwell’s comments, saying Maliki’s meeting with Bush “paints the horizons of relations between Iraq and the United States.”

The Iraqi official added that his government “will make an all-out review for the security situation in Iraq and take necessary steps in order to make Iraqi security forces enabled to hold (increased) responsibilities.”

In addition, Dabbagh said, Iraqi Vice President Tariq al-Hashimi recently met with Jordan’s King Abdullah, and discussed the mutual desirability of countries bordering Iraq to have a positive influence on the country’s internal affairs.