Mr Bush and other senior officials have been pressuring Mr Latham to abandon his pledge to significantly reduce Australian troop numbers in Iraq by Christmas, should he win government.

It appears the White House has been pressing its case -- the most recent push came from Vice-President Dick Cheney at the weekend -- because it sees an opening to exploit Labor internal disagreements on Iraq.

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5744,10073617%255E601,00.html