But Hadley downplayed the opinion of former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, who said in a November 6 memo that a "major adjustment" was needed. The memo, dated two days before Rumsfeld's resignation was announced, offered the White House a variety of options on Iraq. Among them: a "modest" withdrawal of U.S. troops, to let Iraq's leaders know "they have to pull up their socks, step up and take responsibility for their country."

"In my view, it is time for a major adjustment," Rumsfeld wrote. "Clearly, what U.S. forces are currently doing in Iraq is not working well enough or fast enough." Hadley called the Rumsfeld memo "useful and constructive." But he cautioned, "It was not a proposal for a new course of action. It was much more a list of things that needed to be considered." A source familiar with the nonpartisan Iraq Study Group said last week it will recommend a "gradual but meaningful" reduction of U.S. troops begin "relatively early in the new year."