Gates also said that he does not believe there is a large split among Iraqi leaders about whether there should be an increase in US troops. The issue, he said, is how the Iraqis assert their own leadership in taking charge of their own fate.

The new defense chief, who was sworn in on Monday, traveled to Iraq with a mandate to scope out a new war strategy, as the Bush administration continues to search for a way to bring the violence in the embattled country under control.

To that end, Gates shuttled back and forth across Baghdad over the last three days meeting with his military commanders and Iraqi government officials, and gathering input from U.S. troops.

On Iran, Gates told reporters there has been an increase in Naval forces in the Persian Gulf. But he denied that it was a direct reaction to any movements by Iran to pursue a nuclear program.

Instead, Gates said, the message to the Gulf countries is that the United States is going to be an enduring presence in the region.

"We've been here for a long time and we will be here for a long time," he said.

Gates' visit comes as Bush is reassessing US policy in the war, which is widely opposed by the American public after 3 1/2 years of bloodshed. Among the president's options is whether to quickly add thousands of US troops to the 140,000 already in Iraq, in hopes of staunching the escalating violence in Baghdad and elsewhere.

Flanked by Casey and Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gates said he has asked Casey to confer with Iraqi military leaders and the prime minister to make specific recommendations on how to improve the security situation.

"Clearly success will only be achieved by a joint effort with Iraqis taking the lead," he said.

Gates has said he did not talk about specific numbers of US troops with the Iraqi officials. During his meetings here, Gates assured the Iraqis of "the steadfastness of American support."

Gates said he discussed with the Iraqis how their government could reverse the deteriorating security problem. Besides an unrelenting insurgency, killings and kidnappings between Sunnis and Shiites are approaching civil war dimensions with US and civilian casualties rising.

Gates said there are several approaches that could be used to improve security, yet offered few details.

Gates started his day Friday having breakfast with six Army soldiers with the 10th Mountain Division to discuss their mission training Iraqi troops in southern Iraq. The group is part of Task Force 2-15, which has about 400 soldiers embedded with the 4th Brigade of the 6th Iraqi Army Division.

Lt. Col. Bob Morschauser, a soldier from Fairless Hills, Pa., said the Iraqis are improving and gaining confidence. He said the US troops are hoping the Iraqis will be able to operate on their own in less than a year.

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