June 30 not 'a magical date' for Iraq: US

The Pentagon also said it was weighing whether it would need more money before next year to pay for its larger troop deployment and stepped-up operations in Iraq. The White House had publicly ruled out sending a new spending request to Congress before January 2005, after the presidential election.

Pressed on how Iraq would assume sovereignty amid weeks of spiraling violence, Deputy Defence Secretary Paul Wolfowitz called June 30th "just one step in a process," and not "a magical date" in which the US-led occupation will shift responsibilities to a new Iraqi government. Wolfowitz's remarks differed somewhat from President Bush's at a news conference on last Friday that emphasized the date's significance.

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"No citizen of America or Britain would want the government of their nation in the hands of others and neither do the Iraqis. This is why the June 30th date for the transfer of sovereignty will be kept," Bush said.

In two Senate hearings, lawmakers pressed for details on how the US role in Iraq will change after June 30, and on the insurgencies that have produced the highest death rate for US soldiers this month of any time during the war.

In the first three weeks of April, the death toll has about matched the 109 killed in combat from the March 2003 start of the invasion until Bush declared an end to "major combat" operations six weeks later.

Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman John Warner, a Virginia Republican, said the White House should say it was handing over "limited" sovereignty to Iraq in June, since the United States would keep control of security and have other major functions.