Author Topic: Iraq Begins Eyeing Timetable For US Withdrawal  (Read 2773 times)

Offline David In Indy

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Iraq Begins Eyeing Timetable For US Withdrawal
« on: July 08, 2008, 03:13:03 am »
Iraq Eyes Timetable for US Withdrawal
By QASSIM ABDUL-ZAHRA and SEBASTIAN ABBOT,AP


Posted: 2008-07-07 21:32:02
Filed Under: Iraq News
BAGHDAD (July 7) - Iraq's prime minister said Monday his country wants some type of timetable for a withdrawal of American troops included in the deal the two countries are negotiating.

It was the first time that Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has explicitly and publicly called for a withdrawal timetable — an idea opposed by President Bush.

He offered no details. But his national security adviser, Mouwaffak al-Rubaie, told The Associated Press that the government is proposing a timetable conditioned on the ability of Iraqi forces to provide security.

The White House said it did not believe al-Maliki was proposing a rigid timeline for U.S. troop withdrawals.

"Any agreement would not have any hard timetables for withdrawal, but could include the desire by the U.S. and Iraq to withdraw troops based on conditions on the ground," National Security Council spokesman Gordon Johndroe said.

"I know that Prime Minister al-Maliki has said that he doesn't want a precipitous withdrawal because of the security consequences," Johndroe said in Toyako, Japan, where President Bush is attending the G-8 summit.

Al-Maliki said in a meeting with Arab diplomats in Abu Dhabi that his country also has proposed a short-term interim memorandum of agreement rather than the more formal status of forces agreement the two sides have been negotiating.

The memorandum "now on the table" includes a formula for the withdrawal of U.S. troops, he said.

"The goal is to end the presence (of foreign troops)," al-Maliki said.

Some type of agreement is needed to keep U.S. troops in Iraq after a U.N. mandate expires at year's end. But many Iraqi lawmakers had criticized the government's attempt to negotiate a formal status of forces agreement, worried that U.S. demands would threaten the country's sovereignty.

U.S. officials have said little publicly about the negotiations. Adm. Michael Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, did not comment directly on the specifics when asked about it on a trip to Baghdad.

"We'd all like to see U.S. troops get out of here at some point in time," Mullen said. "However, from a military perspective I need the laws and the regulations and the agreements from the government of Iraq in order to continue operations beyond the 31st of December of this year."

With the latest moves, Iraq's government appeared to be trying to blunt opposition in parliament to any deal.

Al-Maliki also could be trying to avoid parliament altogether. He has promised in the past to submit a formal agreement with the U.S. to the legislative body.

But his spokesman indicated Monday that the government might feel no need to get approval from parliament for a shorter-term interim deal.

"It is up to the Cabinet whether to approve it or sign on it, without going back to the parliament," said spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh.

Legal experts said the form of the deal was less significant than its substance.

"You could theoretically include everything in a memorandum of understanding that you could in a formal status of forces agreement," said Michael Matheson, an expert on international law at George Washington University Law School.

The Bush administration has said it doesn't need congressional approval even for a full status of forces agreement — a position criticized by some U.S. lawmakers.

The contentious issues have been U.S. authority to carry out military operations in Iraq and arrest the country's citizens, along with legal immunity for private contractors and control of Iraqi air space.

Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari said last week after a visit to Washington that the U.S. had agreed to drop immunity for private contractors and give up control of Iraqi air space if Iraq guaranteed it could protect the country's skies.

But those concessions, never confirmed by the U.S. side, were apparently not enough to cement a formal agreement, leading Iraq instead to pursue the memorandum.

Iraq's government has felt increasingly confident in recent weeks about its authority and the country's improved stability.

Violence in Iraq has fallen to its lowest level in four years. The change has been driven by the 2007 buildup of American forces, the Sunni tribal revolt against al-Qaida in Iraq and crackdowns against Shiite militias and Sunni extremists.

Despite the gains, frequent attacks continue.

A roadside bomb killed four people and injured three others Monday close to the Iranian border near Khanaqin, 90 miles northeast of Baghdad, said border guard Capt. Sarchel Abdul-Karim.

Another bomb near a dress shop in Baqouba killed one woman Monday and wounded 14 other people, police said. Baqouba, 35 miles northeast of Baghdad, and the surrounding Diyala province remain one of the country's most violent regions.

Also Monday, gunmen killed a member of the Sunni Iraqi Islamic Party in Tal Afar, 260 miles northwest of Baghdad, said police, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the media.


Copyright 2008 The Associated Press.


http://news.aol.com/story/_a/iraq-eyes-timetable-for-us-withdrawal/20080707171909990001



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Offline David In Indy

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Re: Iraq Begins Eyeing Timetable For US Withdrawal
« Reply #1 on: July 08, 2008, 03:15:49 am »
Lately I've been under the opinion we should remain in Iraq to clean up the terrible mess we've made in that country. But if they want us to leave, I really do think we should respect their opinion and go. What do you think?

Should we leave Iraq now since now it seems they want us out of there?
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Offline Kerry

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Re: Iraq Begins Eyeing Timetable For US Withdrawal
« Reply #2 on: July 08, 2008, 10:05:19 am »
It's a curly question, David. Nonetheless, I voted for "Yes" for withdrawal. Alas, it may possibly result in a civil war for Iraq, with much more bloodshed before an ultimate peace. Many countries have progressed through a period of civil war before emerging as stable, democratic societies at the end of the process. I hope a civil war doesn't happen in Iraq, but I fear it might.  :'(
« Last Edit: July 08, 2008, 07:53:53 pm by Kerry »
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Offline brokeplex

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Re: Iraq Begins Eyeing Timetable For US Withdrawal
« Reply #3 on: July 08, 2008, 03:40:58 pm »
 :) Happy Days!

Iraq is ready to go it alone according to their own leadership. So, of course we should leave according to a time table. The conditions in Iraq have improved so dramatically since the surge that clearly we have finally had a victory in Iraq. Lets agree to a time table, get the troops out in an orderly fashion, proclaim victory, have a tickertape parade, and be glad that Al Qaeda has suffered a defeat.

Offline brokeplex

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Re: Iraq Begins Eyeing Timetable For US Withdrawal
« Reply #4 on: July 08, 2008, 04:13:56 pm »
Iraq presses US on timeline for troop pullout 


By QASSIM ABDUL-ZAHRA and SEBASTIAN ABBOT, Associated Press Writers

 "Iraqi officials stepped up pressure on the United States on Tuesday to agree to a specific timeline to withdraw American forces, a sign of the government's growing confidence as violence falls.

The tough words come as the Bush administration is running out of time to reach a needed troop deal before the U.S. election in November and the president's last months in office. Some type of agreement is required to keep American troops in Iraq after a U.N. mandate expires on Dec. 31.

The Iraqi timeline proposal made public Tuesday appears to set an outer limit, requiring U.S. forces to fully withdraw five years after the Iraqis take the lead on security nationwide — though that precondition could itself take years.

"Our stance in the negotiations under way with the American side will be strong," said Iraq's national security adviser, Mouwaffak al-Rubaie, a day after the country's prime minister first publicly said he expects some type of timeline.

"We will not accept any memorandum of understanding that doesn't have specific dates to withdraw foreign forces from Iraq," al-Rubaie told reporters.

President Bush has said he opposes a timeline. The White House said Monday it did not believe Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki was proposing a rigid timeline for U.S. troop withdrawals.

In Washington, the State Department declined to comment specifically on al-Rubaie's remarks, saying it would not negotiate the agreement in public. But it reiterated that the United States fully intends to withdraw troops from Iraq when conditions are appropriate to do so.

"We want to withdraw. We will withdraw. However, that decision will be conditions-based," said Gonzalo Gallegos, a State Department spokesman. "We're looking at conditions, not calendars here."

"We're making progress and are committed to departing, as evidenced by the fact that we have transferred over half of the country's provinces to provisional Iraqi control, and we're planning on removing the fifth and final surge brigade at the end of the month here, if things go according to plan," he told reporters.

Al-Maliki has instructed his negotiating team to harden its position in recent days because he thinks the Bush administration is eager to sign an agreement before the fall elections, giving Iraq the chance to win a better deal, said a senior Iraqi Shiite official knowledgeable about the talks.

The official spoke on condition of anonymity because of the talks' sensitivity.

Al-Rubaie, who spoke to reporters after meeting with Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani in Najaf, a key player in Iraq's politics, did not provide details on the proposed timeline.

But Ali al-Adeeb, a Shiite lawmaker and a prominent official in the prime minister's party, told The Associated Press that Iraq was linking the proposed timeline to the ongoing return of various provinces to Iraqi control.

The proposal stipulates that once the U.S. transfers security authority back to Iraq in all 18 provinces, American-led forces would then withdraw from all cities nationwide.

After that, Iraq's security situation would be reviewed jointly every six months, for three to five years, to decide when U.S.-led troops would pull out entirely, al-Adeeb said.

So far, the United States has handed control of nine of 18 provinces to Iraqi officials.

"This is what the Iraqi people want, the parliament and other Iraqi leaders," said al-Adeeb.

The proposal, as outlined by al-Adeeb, is phrased in a way that would allow Iraqi officials to tell the Iraqi public that it includes a specific timeline for a U.S. withdrawal, with specific time periods mentioned.

However, it also would provide the United States some flexibility on timing because the dates of the provincial handovers are not set.

The U.S. military recently delayed the handover of Anbar and Qadisiyah provinces, for example, blaming bad weather, and new dates have not been released.

The issue of a withdrawal timeline has been a key controversy in the United States.

It is at the center of the debate between Democrat Barack Obama and Republican John McCain as the presumptive presidential nominees look ahead to the general election.

Obama has promised to remove U.S. combat forces from Iraq within 16 months of taking office although he has said that could slip. The idea is opposed by McCain, who is against a specific timeline. Obama is expected to visit Iraq this month.

In Iraq, anti-American Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr has kept the issue in the foreground — and put pressure on the government — by consistently calling for an immediate withdrawal of U.S. troops.

Sticking to that position, Sadrist lawmaker Falah Hassan Shanshal reacted coolly to the Iraqi government's negotiations.

"We reject signing anything with the U.S. before the withdrawal of the occupation forces," Shanshal said.

Iraq's government has felt increasingly confident in recent weeks about its authority and the country's improved stability. Violence in Iraq has fallen to its lowest level in four years, and oil production is at its highest level since the U.S.-led invasion in 2003.

The Iraqi government approved an additional $21 billion for its 2008 budget Tuesday, raising the total to $70 billion, the largest in the country's history, said government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh.

Iraqi officials had hoped to cap their achievements with a visit Wednesday by Jordan's King Abdullah II. The king would have been the first Arab head of state to visit since the 2003 invasion, but abruptly postponed Tuesday, saying the trip would be rescheduled.

Also Tuesday, guards opened fire in northern Baghdad, wounding 13 people when a crowd seeking aid payments for the poor, widows, orphans and disabled people became unruly, Iraqi officials said.

The U.S. military said a soldier died Tuesday from injuries suffered when a roadside bomb hit a troop convoy in Baghdad. Five other soldiers were wounded in the attack in the western Baghdad neighborhood of Amiriyah.



http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080708/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq