White House Sees Diplomatic, Political Opportunities

Biden said the administration needs to use the opportunity created by Zarqawi's death and the completion of the government to take three steps: push Maliki to put together a plan to purge the ministries of sectarian militias; insist that Iraq take advantage of a 120-day window available to amend the constitution; and go back to the international community and obtain financial and diplomatic support for Iraq.

If the administration does not take such steps, Biden said, the killing of Zarqawi could be "as transitory as the capture of Saddam Hussein."

Administration officials said the Camp David meeting will be about how the administration can help the Iraqis move quickly. In a planned videoconference with Iraqi leaders, Bush and his Cabinet members will emphasize that the Iraqis need to come up with ideas for running their country and that the U.S. government is ready to support the implementation of those plans, according to one senior official who requested anonymity to discuss internal administration deliberations. The key issues, this source said, are reconciliation of religious and ethnic groups, economic reform and international support.

The administration is not pressing the new government to adopt a particular solution, such as amending the constitution to accommodate Sunni grievances, but it wants the Iraqi leaders to make decisions, the official said. "We are pushing everyone to come up with solutions," the official said. "The last thing we can do is dictate a solution."

The administration is exploring the idea of an international aid compact, much like Afghanistan has. The compact, established with the United Nations and international donors, set a five-year plan to build security, rule of law, and economic and social development in the war-torn country in order to attract pledges of international support.

Iraq has secured $14 billion in pledges since 2003 but has had trouble collecting the money, with about $3.5 billion provided thus far, the official said. The administration is especially targeting Arab states in the Persian Gulf area, flush with oil revenue, to forgive Iraqi debts and make good on previous pledges.

The Camp David meeting will include such officials as the secretaries of agriculture and energy and their Iraqi counterparts, looking at what technical expertise the administration can offer on problems such as pipeline security and electricity, long a sore point for Iraqis. "It's really bringing all elements of national power to bear to make this transition successful," Bartlett said.

White House national security adviser Stephen J. Hadley was told by Khalilzad at about 3:45 p.m. on Wednesday that Zarqawi may have been killed, according to White House press secretary Tony Snow. A little after 9 p.m., Snow added, the White House was told that tattoos, scars and fingerprints on the body matched those of Zarqawi.

But the White House held back on announcing the news, preferring that Maliki make the announcement in Baghdad yesterday morning.

Eliot A. Cohen, an expert on military strategy at Johns Hopkins University who has close ties to some officials in the administration, said the significance of Zarqawi's demise may be greatest for White House officials who have been emotionally drained by the Iraq ordeal.

"This is probably as important for their morale as anything else," Cohen said. "I think where this really counts is it makes them feel a lot better. The news has not been so good from Iraq. Now, the danger is that they will fool themselves into thinking this is a bigger deal than it is."

Jeremy Rosner, a former Clinton administration official who is an authority on public opinion and foreign policy, said the Zarqawi strike has helped Bush, but only to a point, given the unpopularity of the war.

"He's at the edge of public tolerance and probably congressional tolerance," Rosner said. "He's still got room to operate -- he's not at the point where his hands are tied. This gives him a stronger data point to argue to stay the course."