Robert Wright, the top security adviser to Prime Minister Paul Martin, is unexpectedly leaving his position amid talk that the two men had had a major disagreement, security sources said on Thursday. An official government release said Wright, who took up his position only in December 2003, had been nominated to head Export Development Canada, the federal department that offers trade and investment services to exporters. A Martin spokesman denied there had been any problems between the two men but one well-placed security source said it appeared their relationship had run into trouble. "I'm hearing there has been a falling out between Wright and the prime minister," the source told Reuters, saying the problems seemed to have started over the visit by U.S. President George W. Bush to Ottawa in December. Before Bush arrived, Canadian officials said they did not expect the president to press Martin to get Canada to sign on to a proposed U.S. missile defense shield. But Bush publicly urged Martin three times to take part in the controversial program, which is unpopular with some in the Canada's ruling Liberal Party. This prompted questions as to whether Martin had been badly briefed about the visit. --More 0056 Local Time 2156 GMT
