Bush discusses Iraq with Bremer, Rumsfeld.

(From Agence France Presse)

President George W. Bush held urgent talks with top aides including the US civilian overseer for Iraq, Paul Bremer, on how to speed the transfer to self-rule in that war-ravaged nation.

Bush first convened his national security council, which groups Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, Secretary of State Colin Powell, and Vice President Dick Cheney, then met jointly with Rumsfeld and Bremer, aides said.

Bremer dashed to Washington unexpectedly Tuesday and held private talks late into the night with top administration officials at the White House amid signs of growing US impatience with the pace of progress in Iraq.

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