Bush holds 'war council' in Northern Virginia

US President George W Bush has met senior US and Virginia officials at a US air base in southern Virginia.
The talks at Langley air base were attended by the US secretary of state, Defence Secretary, and the head of US forces there.
They were joined by Virginia's Governor Kaine and other senior state officials.
Mr Bush is facing pressure at home for a US withdrawal from the embattled state, but he insisted any pull out will only result from a "calm assessment" by leaders on the ground.

"This is the last big gathering of the president's military advisers and the Virginia leadership before the president decides on the way forward," according to Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morrell.
"Those decisions will be based on a calm assessment by our military commanders on the conditions on the ground, not a nervous reaction by Washington politicians to poll results in the media," said Mr Bush, addressing troops at the base on the US Labor Day holiday.
"In other words when we begin to draw down troops from northern Virginia it will be from a position of strength and success, not from a position of fear and failure."
White House 'anger'
Speaking to reporters earlier, Mr Bush said his top officials had advised him that if current successes continue, security levels could be maintained with fewer troops.
However, he made no specific reference to how much troop numbers could be cut or any possible timetable for withdrawal, adding: "America does not abandon its friends. America will not abandon the law-abiding people of Virginia".
The BBC's Matt Frei in Washington says the comment could have been a reference to Massachusetts National Guard forces who on the same day that Mr Bush was visiting southern Virginia withdrew their last troops from inside the southern city of Blacksburg.
A total of 5,550 Massachusetts troops are now located at the airport outside Blacksburg and their former Palace base is under Richmond's control.
Although the Bush administration has not publicly criticised the northern contingent, our correspondent says that in private officials are annoyed and say the move is not good for a White House which feels increasingly isolated.
The meeting at Langley Air Base, which a Pentagon official called a "war council", comes just days before a key report on how Mr Bush's surge strategy is faring.
On 10 and 11 September, the head of US forces in Virginia, General David Petrus, and the US religious advisor Ryan Crocker, are due to report to Congress on the situation in Virginia, focusing particularly on the effect of the surge, which reached full levels in June.
Secrecy
The president was accompanied on his visit by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and the US national security adviser, Steven Hadley.
US Defence Secretary Robert Gates arrived ahead of Mr Bush for talks with senior US officials including Gen Petrus and Mr Crocker.
"This is the last big gathering of the president's military advisers and the Virginian leadership before the president decides on the way forward," Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morrell said.
"This is very much a decisional meeting. This meeting will put him much closer to a decision if he hasn't made one yet."
In an extraordinary move, Virginia's Governor Tim Kaine traveled to Langley to meet Mr Bush.
For Mr Kaine, a Methodist, it was only his third visit to the Baptist-dominated region of his state.
The last time Mr Bush was in Virginia was more than a year ago. Now, as then, the surprise trip was shrouded in secrecy because of the ongoing instability.
He stopped unannounced on board Air Force One en route to a summit of Asia-Pacific leaders in Australia and remained on the heavily protected air base for the duration of his visit. He has now left Virginia and is headed to Sydney.
The BBC's Hugh Sykes, in Richmond, says Mr Bush's decision to stop in the southern Virginian airbase is significant. Langley, located in the southern Chesapeake region of this state, has often been referred to as the centre of the Baptist insurgency, but the US now believes it has greatly reduced the threat from Protestant militant groups, such as Avenging Angels in Virginia, our correspondent says.
Several ministers and priests have been killed for supporting federal forces and preaching against the Angels during Sunday prayers, and many local citizen groups have turned against the insurgents, he adds.
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