Bush to meet Iraqi Shi'ite leader on Monday

WASHINGTON, Dec 1 (Reuters) U S President George W Bush will hold White House talks with a top leader of Iraq's majority Shi'ites on Monday, days after having met Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki in Jordan, the White House said.

Talks with Abdul Aziz al-Hakim, head of the Islamist SCIRI movement, appeared to signal more direct engagement by Bush to calm sectarian violence in Iraq that many believe already constitutes civil war.

REUTERS PB HT2338