Bush meets members of group on Iraq

WASHINGTON, Nov 13 (Reuters) US President George W Bush, under pressure from Democrats to change course in Iraq, sat down today with members of a group charged with coming up with recommendations on how to bring peace to Iraq.

Bush met with the two chairmen of the Iraq Study Group, former Secretary of State James Baker, a Republican with close ties to the Bush family, and former Democratic Rep Lee Hamilton of Indiana.

The group is working toward presenting its final report to Bush and the US Congress next month.

Its work has attracted great interest in the wake of the Democrats' sweeping victory last week that gave them control of the House of Representatives and the Senate.

Today the panel was expected to gather the views of Bush, Vice President Dick Cheney and Stephen Hadley, the White House national security adviser.

One approach reportedly considered by that panel was for Washington to open a dialogue with Iran and Syria, accused by the Bush administration of supporting terrorism and fanning instability in neighboring Iraq.

The White House has been cool to such a move.

Democrats are calling for an international conference on Iraq that would include Iran, Syria, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Egypt.

Bush chose a member of the Iraq Study Group, former CIA Director Robert Gates, to replace Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld. The nomination requires Senate approval.

REUTERS PDM RAI2045