BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP)-- National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley met Monday with his Iraqi counterpart and Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki to discuss military and political coordination during an unannounced visit to Baghdad.

The meeting with Mouwafak al-Rubaie and al-Maliki was to follow up on a decision to form a joint commission to coordinate U.S.-Iraqi relations, especially military activity, the Iraqi government said.

The commission was established in a video conference Saturday between President Bush and al-Maliki, who has issued a series of critical statements about U.S. policy in Iraq in the past week.

"The two sides discussed the work of the committee, which was agreed to between the prime minister and the American president and is designed to coordinate development of the Iraqi security forces and expedite military training, reconciliation among Iraqis and the war against terrorism," the statement said.

Hadley was accompanied in the talks by U.S. Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad.

Hadley's trip was not announced in advance in keeping with security precautions taken for visits to Baghdad by senior U.S. officials, said Gordon Johndroe, spokesman for the National Security Council in Washington.

Johndroe said Hadley's visit was not a fence-mending effort to deal with strains between Washington and Baghdad. "Absolutely not," he said. "This is a long- planned trip to get a firsthand report of the situation on the ground from the political, economic and security fronts." In a snippet of conversation heard on a videotape of the beginning of the meeting, Hadley said, "I wanted to reinforce some of the things you have heard from our president."

The U.S. Embassy confirmed Hadley's visit, but gave few details.

"He is here as part of ongoing consultations with the Iraqi government," said an Embassy official, speaking on routine condition of anonymity.