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In the interview, Talabani said he planned to
discuss reductions in U.S. forces during a private
meeting with President Bush today, and said he
believed the United States could begin pulling out
some troops immediately.
"We think that America has the full right to move
some forces from Iraq to their country because I
think we can replace them [with] our forces,"
Talabani said. "In my opinion, at least from 40,000
to 50,000 American troops can be [withdrawn] by the
end of this year."
That assessment differs dramatically from those
offered by Bush and by U.S. military commanders in
Iraq.
Bush has carefully avoided setting a timetable for
reducing the number of U.S. troops in Iraq,
currently about 140,000, and the Pentagon plans to
maintain or slightly increase the force level in
anticipation of an Oct. 15 referendum on Iraq's new
constitution. White House officials say that Bush's
strategy for eventually withdrawing troops hinges on
Iraqis' approving the constitution and holding
successful elections in December.
Dan Bartlett, a senior Bush adviser, said the
president and Talabani have the same goals. "We
share the same view: As Iraqis build up their
capabilities to defend their country, fewer U.S.
troops will be needed to complete our mission,"
Bartlett said. "The president will continue to work
with Iraqi leaders, and base his military decisions
on the advice of commanders in the field and the
secretary of defense."
A senior Army official, who spoke on condition of
anonymity because the military does not openly
discuss withdrawal timelines, said bringing home as
many as 50,000 U.S. troops -- or more than 35
percent of those now in Iraq -- by the end of the
year is not under discussion. "Any talk of reduction
has been for well after the election time frame,"
the official said. "Are there discussions about how
to pull back and when? Sure. But certainly not that
dramatically in such a short time."
Talabani's statement has the potential to put Bush
in a difficult position if the troops are not pulled
out by year's end, since critics are certain to ask
why U.S. soldiers cannot come home when Iraq's own
president says they can. The two leaders will hold a
joint news conference today after their meeting.
In the interview, Talabani said Iraqi troops are
prepared to assume control of security in several
cities throughout southern, central and northern
Iraq, despite continued violence, suicide bombings
and killings. Many military experts predict a spike
in insurgent attacks ahead of next month's vote.
Talabani said the number of "well-trained" Iraqi
security forces stood at 60,000 and would reach
100,000 by the end of the year. All told, there
about 190,000 Iraqis enlisted in the military or
local security forces. "Some are well-trained, some
are not so well-trained," he said. Iraqi troops have
light arms, but he said they need 50 tanks and
automatic weapons.
Talabani, who is Kurdish, could be influenced by the
fact that the Kurds are fairly capable of defending
their territory in northern Iraq and are less in
need of U.S. military support, said Michael
O'Hanlon, a fellow at the Brookings Institution who
studies Iraq.
Many Sunni Arabs oppose the draft constitution, and
they are organizing in record numbers to vote
against it in Sunni-dominated regions. Talabani
raised the possibility of an addendum to the
constitution in coming days in an effort to appease
Sunni factions. "Of course, we would like to have
consensus on all articles of the constitution," he
said.
In the interview, Talabani said he did not want to
speak critically of neighboring Syria, which the top
U.S. envoy to Iraq chastised for interfering there.
Many of the foreign insurgents fighting in Iraq are
believed to have entered the country along the
porous Syrian border. "Our patience is running out,
the patience of Iraqis [is] . . . running out. The
time for decision . . . has arrived for Damascus,"
Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad told reporters at the
State Department.
Commenting on the upcoming trial of ousted president
Saddam Hussein, Talabani insisted that the former
leader had confessed to the killings of tens of
thousands of Kurds in the late 1980s, an assertion
denied by Hussein's attorney.
Hussein is scheduled to go on trial Oct. 19 on
charges stemming from a massacre of Shiite Muslims
following a failed assassination attempt on the
Iraqi leader in the northern town of Dujail in 1982.
Hussein allegedly retaliated for the plot by killing
at least 143 people and razing much of the town.
Talabani, based on a conversation with the judge in
the case, recounted a scene right out of the movie
"A Few Good Men." Asked about the mass killings,
Hussein sat silent, refusing to utter a word,
Talabani said. But Hussein was taunted, asked if he
was afraid to say he carried out such an act.
Hussein said, "I am not afraid," and defiantly
admitted he ordered the killings. Talabani said the
judge has a video and recording of the confession.
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