ARAB-US RELATIONS - Nov. 12 - Bremer Wants Big Change In Iraq Plan.

Delivering his bleakest assessment to date of the crisis in Iraq, Bremer recommends in a two-page memo that the process of transferring sovereignty, writing a constitution and holding elections be accelerated and completed within a year. He says he agrees with a Nov. 10 CIA report warning that the insurgency was gaining in strength and co-ordination and could spread from central Iraq to the north and south. The insurgents have better intelligence than the US and are gaining more recruits as the belief grows among Iraqis that the US would fail. The CIA also warned that the reconstruction process would come under threat as more contractors and NGOs flee the violence. Bremer added comments to the CIA report to the effect that he could not do what he was supposed to if the security situation continued to worsen. Secretary of State Powell sought to steady the boat on Nov. 12, saying Bush was still "as determined as he was at the beginning of this effort. This is the time for perseverance. It's a time for patience". Powell said no major decision was taken in Washington during two days of intense, high-level consultations and added: "We're looking at all sorts of ideas".