|
Talabani: No timetable for U.S. troop
withdrawal from Iraq
14.9.2005
|
|
|
|
WASHINGTON -
Iraqi President Jalal Talabani said on Tuesday that
Iraq will not set a timetable for a withdrawal of
U.S. troops, backing away from his published remarks
that the United States could withdraw as many as
50,000 troops by the end of the year.
Talabani, speaking at a joint news conference after
a meeting with President George W. Bush, said
however he hoped that by the end of 2006, Iraqi
security forces would be strong enough to start
taking over from "many" U.S. troops.
"We will set no timetable for withdrawal, Mr.
President. A timetable will help the terrorists,
will encourage them that they could defeat the
superpower of the world and the Iraqi people,"
Talabani said in remarks that aligned him with
Bush's often-stated view that a timetable for
withdrawal would embolden the insurgency in Iraq.
"We hope that by the end of 2006, our security
forces are up to the level of taking responsibility
from many American troops, with complete agreement
with Americans," he said.
Talabani had said in an interview published in the
Washington Post on Tuesday that the United States
could withdraw as many as 50,000 troops from Iraq by
the end of the year because there are enough Iraqi
forces ready to begin taking control of parts of the
country. |
U.S. President George W. Bush
Photo: White House
President : Jalal Talabani
(Mam Jalal) |
|
Talabani said in the interview he would discuss
reductions in U.S. forces during the meeting with
Bush and said he thought the United States could
pull some troops out immediately.
Bush, facing waning support at home for the 2-1/2
year-war in Iraq, has rejected the notion of setting
a timetable for a withdrawal, saying only that as
Iraqi security forces assume more control, U.S.
forces can stand down.
Bush also reiterated strong words against Syria,
which the United States accuses of allowing foreign
fighters to cross into Iraq, saying Damascus was
isolating itself.
"The Syrian leader must understand we take his lack
of action seriously. And the government is going to
become more and more isolated as a result of two
things: one, not being cooperative with the Iraqi
government in terms of securing Iraq; and two, not
being fully transparent about what they did in
Lebanon," Bush said in answer to a question on
Syria.
"And this is a subject of conversation, of course,
I'll have with allies in places like New York and on
the other times I communicate with our allies: that
Syria must be a focus of getting them to change
their behavior, particularly as it regards to
democracy and trying to prevent democracies from
emerging," he said.
The U.S. ambassador to Iraq, Zalmay Khalilzad, said
on Monday that "Our patience is running out with
Syria.
Reuters
Top |
Kurd Net
does not take credit for and is not responsible for the content of news
information on this page
|
® 