A former CIA director, Gates was last involved in Afghanistan as the spy agency's number two when it armed and funded an Islamic insurgency that drove Soviet forces from the country in the 1980s.

Gates planned to explain aspects of President George W. Bush's new Iraq strategy, including its heightened emphasis on Iran and Syria as well as a surge in US troops, the official said.

The official indicated that Gates would not be asking British troops to play a role in the new security plan, which is centered on Baghdad. US commanders felt they had all the coalition troops they needed, the official said.

But Gates wants to know more about Britain's assessment of the situation in the south and their rationale for reducing their forces, the official said.

The official said Gates planned to travel to southern Iraq to get the views of commanders there.

Although relatively quiet, the region is a particular US concern because of its long, open border with Iran and Tehran's influence with Shiite groups that are competing for power in the south.

The United States has accused Iran's Islamic regime of smuggling arms, advanced explosive devices and fighters to Iraq to attack US forces.

Last week, US forces arrested five Iranians it said were involved in activities directed against US forces in a controversial raid in the northern Kurdish city of Arbil.

Gates testified for two days in defense of Bush's new buildup in Iraq, but acknowledged that success would hinge on the Iraqi government delivering on a series of military and political commitments made by Prime Minister Nuri Al-Maliki.

Maliki had wanted the crackdown in Baghdad to be carried out by Iraqi forces, but "grudgingly" accepted the need for US troops, Gates told members of the Senate Armed Services Committee last week.

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