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CAMP DAVID - President George W. Bush and British Prime Minister Gordon Brown presented a united front on Iraq and promoting Middle East peace, trying to quell suggestions of a cooling in trans-Atlantic ties.
After a spate of reports that the new British leader would seek to distance himself from Bush and withdraw from Iraq, both men were keen to show at their first meeting at the secluded presidential retreat they could strike up a strong bond.
"Everybody's wondering whether or not the prime minister and I were able to find common ground, to get along, to have a meaningful discussion. And the answer is absolutely," Bush told a news conference on the grounds of Camp David.
Bush forged a close bond with Brown's predecessor, Tony Blair, the US president's closest ally during the Iraq war.
By contrast, Brown, the son of a Scottish preacher, is a serious intellectual keen to avoid the tag of "Bush's poodle" that undermined Blair in Britain. The two leaders' personal chemistry was noticeably cooler than that enjoyed by Bush and Blair, who stepped down last month.
During the more than three hours of one-on-one meetings, Bush searched for common ground with the new British leader, noting that he had been to Scotland.
Bush acknowledged, though, that Brown may use different toothpaste than Blair - who uses the same brand that he uses.
Brown bragged that six members of his cabinet were younger than 40, Bush shot back: "You must be feeling damn old, then."
While Bush heaped praise on Brown, Brown had little to say about Bush, although he stressed the two countries' shared values.
"I've told President Bush that it's in Britain's national interest that with all our energies we work together to address all the great challenges that we face, also together," Brown said, listing these as nuclear proliferation, climate change, global poverty, the Middle East peace process and security.
On Iran, the two agreed on the need to pursue tougher sanctions against the country over its nuclear programme.
"We're in agreement that sanctions are working and the next stage we are ready to move towards is to toughen the sanctions with a further UN resolution," Brown said.
Brown gave no promises on how long Britain would keep its 5000 troops in Iraq.
Britain has already handed over security control to Iraqi forces in three of the provinces it was responsible for and Brown said it intends to do the same in the fourth province, Basra, although the decision would be based on military advice.
The head of the British military said last week Britain should be in a position to hand over control of Basra to Iraqi forces by year-end, and a British government source said Brown's comment did not mark an acceleration of the schedule.
Britain's decision would also take account of a report due in mid-September by the head of US forces in Iraq, Gen. David Petraeus, on attempts to quell unrelenting sectarian violence, the source said.
Bush appeared unconcerned at the prospect of British forces withdrawing. "There is no doubt in my mind that Gordon Brown understands that failure in Iraq would be a disaster for the security of our own countries," he said.
Brown pointed to Afghanistan and the ousted Taleban regime as the front line in the battle against extremists.
Bush also said the two leaders were optimistic World Trade Organisation members can reach a long-sought agreement in the Doha round of world trade talks, stalled since June.
"Gordon Brown brought some interesting suggestions on the way forward. He's optimistic that we can conclude the Doha round, as am I," Bush said.
Brown will meet Democratic and Republican congressional leaders in Washington on Monday afternoon. On Tuesday, he will hold talks with UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in New York and give a speech at the world body.
- REUTERS
