Iraqi Official Says Government Wants Timetable for Withdrawal
Statement Is Strongest Yet Regarding Negotiations Over U.S. Military Role
By Ernesto Londoño
Washington Post Foreign Service
Tuesday, July 8, 2008; 12:43 PM
washingtonpost.com
BAGHDAD, July 8 -- Iraq's national security advisor 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 yet by an Iraqi official regarding the politically controversial negotiations between Iraq and the United States over the U.S. military role in Iraq. A United Nations mandate that sanctions the presence of U.S. troops in the country expires in December.
Speaking to reporters in the holy city of Najaf, National Security Adviser Mowaffak al-Rubaie declined to provide specific dates, but said his government is "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," Rubaie said. "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."
On Monday Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki issued a statement saying his government was inclined to sign a memorandum of understanding with the United States that included a timeline for the withdrawal of U.S. troops.
Rubaie spoke to reporters after briefing Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani, Iraq's top Shiite religious leader.
The Bush administration has long opposed a firm timetable for the withdrawal of U.S. 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 lay low until after U.S. troops were gone.
A U.S. Embassy official, speaking on condition of anonymity, would not directly address Rubaie's comments. In an e-mail, the official said: "We all want to see security control handed over as quickly as possible and as conditions allow."
U.S. officials say the Iraqi army and police have made great strides in recent months. But the forces remain heavily dependent on the U.S. military, which has been providing training, air support and millions of dollars worth of weapons, vehicles and aircraft.
Shiite parliament member Ali al-Adeeb, a close Maliki ally, said the Iraqi government is proposing that the withdrawal of U.S. troops be linked to the handover of security responsibility for provinces, the Associated Press reported.
Iraq has assumed primary responsibility over security in nine of Iraq's 18 provinces, but U.S. troops operate freely throughout the country.
Iraq is proposing that U.S. troops withdraw from all Iraqi cities once the U.S. has handed over responsibility for security in all provinces, Adeeb told the wire service. |
