The foreign secretary is in Washington where he is holding talks on Iraq with his US counterpart.

Following the latest in a series of bomb blasts, Jack Straw is meeting with secretary of state Colin Powell.

The talks come amid predictions that the coalition could seek to transfer control of the country to the governing council early in the New Year.

Whilst Britain and the US have insisted they will not turn their backs on the country, they are facing growing calls for an early handover.

A leaked CIA report has found growing support for those fighting coalition troops.

Allied forces are facing daily attacks and the casualty count is growing.

President Bush, who faces re-election next year, is said to be growing increasingly concerned about the death toll.

The US administration wants to develop a handover strategy - even if it means handing back control before the country is ready for democratic elections.

Some believe that putting Iraqis in control would quell the growing rebellion against the allied forces.

But both London and Washington have vowed to remain on the ground to assist with security and reconstruction.

Speaking on Thursday Straw signalled that more troops could be despatched to Iraq.

He said the defence secretary and the chief of the defence staff were "constantly making judgements" about whether force numbers are adequate.

"Both of them have made clear that if they think that these forces need to be reinforced then they will be," he told the BBC World at One programme on Thursday.

"The same I believe is true of the United States. What we are also doing is significantly increasing the capacity of the Iraqi security services.''

Speaking before he headed to Washington the foreign secretary said the coalition may be set to rethink its strategy.

He said there was a renewed sense of determination following the latest attacks.

"We want to hand over power to the Iraqi people as quickly as possible," he told the BBC.

"And it could well be that we hand over power to the Iraqis more quickly than planned."

But the foreign secretary added that there were no plans for an early exit from the region.

"We as the coalition have clear responsibilities for security in Iraq and we have to meet those responsibilities," he said.