Moderate Republicans warn Bush Iraq must improve

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A group of Republican lawmakers warned President George W. Bush this week at a private White House meeting that conditions in Iraq must improve quickly or he will lose more support from his own party, The New York Times reported on Wednesday.

Eleven moderate House Republicans were unusually candid with Bush in a meeting that lasted more than an hour, telling him public support for the war was crumbling in their swing districts, the Times said, sighting participants in the Tuesday session.

NBC Nightly News quoted an unnamed participant in the meeting as saying that they had an "unvarnished conversation" with Bush about the war.

The delegation, headed by Mark Kirk of Illinois and Charles Dent of Pennsylvania, told Bush: "We need candor. We need honesty," and that the White House had lost its credibility on the war, NBC reported.

The White House declined comment on the discussions.

"I'm not going to comment on what the president may or may not have said in a meeting with members. He meets regularly with members of Congress and asks for their unvarnished opinions and frank advice," said spokesman Tony Fratto.

The session in the residential section of the White House demonstrated the grave unease many Republicans feel about the war, even as they continue to stand with Bush against Democratic efforts to force a troop withdrawal through a funding measure, The New York Times said.

"It was a tough meeting in terms of people being as frank as they possibly could about their districts and their feelings about where the American people are on the war," said Rep. Ray LaHood of Illinois, who took part in the meeting. "It was a no-holds-barred meeting."

Lawmakers said that Bush and others at the meeting, including Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, political adviser Karl Rove and National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley, appeared to appreciate the political reality facing Republicans who will be on the ballot next year, the newspaper said.

Dent, who helped arrange the meeting, told the Times the lawmakers wanted to convey the frustration and impatience with the war they are hearing from voters.

"We had a very frank conversation about the situation in Iraq," he said.

Even so, the Republicans who attended the meeting indicated that they would stand with Bush for now by opposing the latest Democratic proposal for financing the war.