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WASHINGTON (AP) - President Bush's chaotic summit with Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki is a telling sign of U.S. worries that the raging conflict in Iraq could tip the balance of power in the Middle East well beyond embattled Baghdad.
Bush was to sit down with the Iraqi leader and Jordanian King Abdullah II on Wednesday. Then, suddenly, Bush was out, biding his time before his own meeting with al-Maliki on Thursday.
Was it a snub? Absolutely not, a Bush spokesman said. The Iraqi prime minister faced political pressure at home not to attend the summit. Also, the cancellation came the same day as news of a secret Bush administration assessment that he may be in over his head.
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