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Iraqi sees need for U.S. military until
2018
15.1.2008
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January
15, 2008
WASHINGTON,-- Iraq's defense minister said on
Monday his country would need foreign military help
to defend its borders for another 10 years and would
not be able to maintain internal security until
2012.
Abdul Qadir's remarks, in an interview with The New
York Times posted on the newspaper's Internet site,
could become an issue in the U.S. presidential
campaign.
"According to our calculations and our timelines, we
think that from the first quarter of 2009 until 2012
we will be able to take full control of the internal
affairs of the country," Qadir said.
"In regard to the borders, regarding protection from
any external threats, our calculation appears that
we are not going to be able to answer to any
external threats until 2018 to 2020," he said.
President George W. Bush has said U.S. troops may
have to stay in Iraq for years but most presidential
candidates, especially Democrats, would like them to
withdraw much faster. |
Iraqi Defence Minister Abdul Qadir al-Obaidi |
Qadir is currently visiting the United States. On
his agenda is weapons acquisitions for the new,
U.S.-trained Iraqi army. According to the Times,
these included ground vehicles, helicopters,www.ekurd.net
tanks, artillery and
armored personnel carriers.
The United States disbanded the country's previous
armed forces built by Saddam Hussein, the former
Iraqi president who was executed in December 2006.
The United States and Iraq have said they would
negotiate a formal agreement governing the legal
status of American military forces in Iraq but talks
have not yet formally begun.
Reuters
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