U.S. military chiefs to give Bush Iraq advice

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, the top military officers for major branches of the armed forces, will give President George W. Bush their assessment of Iraq war strategy on Friday, a U.S. general said on Thursday.

Bush, gathering advice from military officials ahead of a report due to Congress next month, will meet with the Joint Chiefs at the Pentagon, said Maj. Gen. Richard Sherlock, the Chiefs' director for operational planning.

Sherlock would not comment on the advice the Joint Chiefs will offer. He also would not say what issues the Chiefs' staff had raised as they prepared their assessments of the so-called surge in Iraq that boosted U.S. troop levels to more than 160,000.

"The Joint Chiefs will be able to provide the president with their unvarnished recommendations and their assessments of current operations. They'll make those individually and they'll make those in private," Sherlock said.

The Joint Chiefs of Staff includes the top military officers of each major branch of the armed forces, including the Army, Navy and Air Force.