Spokeswoman Dana Perino confirmed that Stephen Hadley was in Iraq but told reporters aboard Bush's official Air Force One airplane: "I think that the press reports about the relationship being sensitive are overblown."
Perino called Hadley's unannounced visit "a long-planned trip to the region" that was "part of our ongoing assessment and continued co-operation" with the fledgling government of Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki.
"While the logistics are difficult, anytime you can have a face-to-face meeting with your partner or your colleague, that can help facilitate communication and it also gives Mister Hadley a good chance to be on the ground to assess things and be able to report back to the president," she said.
Hadley's visit comes amid apparent tensions between Washington and Baghdad ahead of November 7 US elections in which opposition Democrats have used the unpopular Iraq war as a key campaign issue.
Perino, who spoke as Bush launched a frenetic final week of campaigning to help his Republicans, said that "with the president out of town this week, it was a good time for him (Hadley) to go."

Copyright AFP (Agence France-Presse), 2006