Scotty denied any pressure from the WH yesterday.
Bush wants Jaafari to resign, says MP
By Edward Wong in Baghdad
March 30, 2006
THE US ambassador to Iraq has told Shiite officials that President George Bush does not want the Iraqi Prime Minister to remain the country's leader in the next government, senior Shiite politicians said.
The ambassador, Zalmay Khalilzad, told the head of the main Shiite political bloc at a meeting on Saturday to pass on a "personal message from President Bush" to the interim Prime Minister, Ibrahim al-Jaafari, said Redha Jowad Taki, a Shiite MP who was at the meeting.
Mr Khalilzad said Mr Bush "doesn't want, doesn't support, doesn't accept" Dr Jaafari to be the next prime minister, said Mr Taki, a senior aide to Abdul-Aziz al-Hakim, the head of the Shiite bloc. The bloc, which won a plurality in the parliamentary election in December, nominated Dr Jaafari last month to retain his post for four more years.
The US embassy confirmed the meeting on Saturday, but declined to comment on what was said.
The White House spokesman, Scott McClellan, denied that Mr Bush had been interfering in the fledgling Iraqi democracy. "I don't think that's an accurate report at all," he said. "What we are doing is encouraging the Iraqi leaders to move forward on a government of national unity, based on strong leadership."
full story:
http://smh.com.au/news/world/bush-wants-jaafari-to-resign-says-mp/2006/03/29/1143441214632.html