Iraq adamant on timetable for U. S. troop withdrawal
By Ernesto Londono and Dan Eggen
- WASHINGTON POST
Updated: 07/09/08 6:58 AM
BAGHDAD — Iraq’s national security adviser said Tuesday that his government would not sign an agreement governing the future role of U. S. troops in Iraq unless it includes a timetable for their withdrawal.
The statement was the strongest demand yet by a senior Iraqi official for the two governments to set specific dates for the departure of U. S. forces.
Speaking to reporters in the holy Shiite city of Najaf, national security adviser Mowaffak al-Rubaie said his government was “impatiently waiting” for the complete withdrawal of U. S. troops.
“There should not be any permanent bases in Iraq unless these bases are under Iraqi control,” al-Rubaie said, referring to negotiations toward a bilateral agreement governing the future U. S. military role in Iraq that would go into effect when a U. N. mandate expires in December.
“We would not accept any memorandum of understanding with [the
U. S.] side that has no obvious and specific dates for the foreign troops’ withdrawal from Iraq,” al-Rubaie said.
U. S. officials said the remarks, along with a similar statement Monday by Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, were aimed at local and regional audiences and do not reflect fundamental disagreements with the Bush administration.
Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said he anticipates continued drawdowns of U. S. troops from Iraq as Iraqi security forces take charge. Despite pressure from the Iraqi government for a withdrawal timeline, Gates said further troop reductions will depend on conditions on the ground.
“As the Iraqi security forces get stronger and get better, then we will be able to continue drawing down our troops in the future,” Gates told reporters Tuesday during a visit to Fort Lewis, Wash. “However long that takes really will depend on the situation on the ground. But things are going very well at this point.”
The outcome of the negotiations on the future role of U. S. forces in Iraq is almost certain to have political consequences for al-Maliki and other Iraqi leaders with close ties to the United States. Many Iraqis are opposed to the presence of U. S. troops in their country, and the debate has become a key issue as Iraqi politicians gear up for provincial elections scheduled to take place in the fall.
The Bush administration has long opposed a firm timetable for the withdrawal of troops from Iraq, arguing that the American military should leave only when Iraq’s security forces are capable of securing the country and that setting a pullout date would allow insurgents to lie low until after U. S. troops were gone.
At the same time, Bush has repeatedly said he would go along with the wishes of the Iraqi government. “It’s their government’s choice,” he said in May 2007. “If they were to say, ‘Leave,’ we would leave.”
Meanwhile, a U. S. soldier was killed Tuesday west of Baghdad when a roadside bomb struck his vehicle, the military said, raising the death toll to 4,115 since the war began in March 2003.
