Dec. 3 (Bloomberg) -- A classified memo Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld sent the White House two days before he announced his resignation was part of an internal review aimed at charting ``a new way forward'' for the U.S. in Iraq, National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley said.

President George W. Bush asked his advisers to ``open the aperture,'' and Rumsfeld was responding to that request rather than making any last-minute bid to save his job, Hadley said.

The president ``has said publicly what Secretary Rumsfeld said, that things are not proceeding well enough or fast enough in Iraq,'' Hadley said on ABC's ``This Week'' program. ``We have to make some changes.''

Bush is under pressure from U.S. lawmakers to speed up the transfer of security responsibility to Iraqi forces as sectarian violence has surged in recent months. The United Nations estimates 3,700 Iraqis civilians were killed in October, the highest since the U.S.-led invasion in March 2003.

Three car bombs were set off yesterday on a Baghdad street crowded with shoppers, killing at least 60 people, Agence France-Presse reported. Attacks today killed 29 Iraqis. Bush last week blamed al-Qaeda elements for whipping up strife between Sunni and Shiite Muslims.

`Major Adjustment'

In Rumsfeld's memo, disclosed yesterday by the New York Times, the defense chief called for a ``major adjustment'' in the U.S. strategy in Iraq. He proposed that the administration ``recast'' the stated U.S. goals in Iraq to a ``minimalist'' level, consider moving troops toward the borders with Iran and Syria, pulling out of the most violent cities and withholding economic aid from areas where Iraqis weren't cooperating.

Some of the elements in the memo parallel suggestions made by Democratic critics of the president, including redeploying some troops as a ``Quick Reaction Force'' in Iraq and Kuwait and to ``begin modest withdrawals'' of U.S. and coalition troops to prod the Iraqis into taking more responsibilities.

Senate Armed Services Chairman John Warner, who two months ago said the Iraqi government 60 to 90 days to stabilize the country, called on Bush today to work with congressional Democratic leaders, who take control of the next Congress in January, on a plan for the future course in Iraq.

Adapting

While Bush won't change his goals, Warner said on NBC's ``Meet the Press'' program, ``he is willing to pursue a change of course from here to there.''

Democrats said they doubted that Bush would actually follow through on his pledge to adapt.

``He's said he'll be flexible, but he isn't flexible,'' Democratic Senator Dianne Feinstein of California said on CNN's ``Late Edition'' program.

The administration this week will be getting a report from the Iraq Study Group, an independent panel headed by former Secretary of State James A. Baker III and former Representative Lee Hamilton. The group was set up by Congress to provide recommendations on the next U.S. steps in Iraq.

``The point to remember about the Baker/Hamilton report is it will be one input to the process the president is conducting,'' Hadley said. ``He'll want to hear more what the Iraqi government wants to do.''

In his weekly radio address yesterday, Bush said the U.S. ``is ready to make changes'' and wants to ``hear all advice'' before making any decisions.

Diplomacy

Bush also is stepping up diplomatic efforts. He met last week in Jordan with Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, and he meets tomorrow in Washington with Abdul Aziz al-Hakim, the head of one of the most powerful Shiite Muslim parties in Iraq.

Britain's Sunday Times reported today that Prime Minister Tony Blair, Bush's closest ally, will arrive in Washington Dec. 6 to talk about Iraq strategy. An administration spokeswoman said she could not confirm the Blair visit.

A memo that Hadley wrote last month questioned the ability and willingness of Maliki to confront ethnic violence in Iraq. In his interview today, Hadley distanced himself from the most critical aspects of that memo, which was published in the New York Times last week.

``This government does share our vision for a democratic Iraq that can govern itself, sustain itself, defend itself,'' Hadley said today. Maliki's government does ``not have sufficient capabilities, and what the two leaders talked about are how to enhance the capabilities of the Iraqi government.''

Rumsfeld's resignation was announced Nov. 8, a day after Democrats won control of Congress from Republicans in part because of dissatisfaction with the war. He is staying on as defense secretary pending Senate confirmation of the man Bush named to succeed him, former Central Intelligence Agency Director Robert M. Gates. A full Senate vote on Gates' nomination is likely on Wednesday, Warner said.

To contact the reporter on this story: Mark Drajem in Washington at mdrajem@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: December 3, 2006 13:42 EST