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U.S. and Iraq Agree to Goals for Troop Cuts
The United States and Iraq have agreed to set a "general time horizon" for the "further reduction of U.S. combat forces in Iraq" following the improvement in security conditions in the country, the White House said Friday. The breakthrough, which was reached between President Bush and Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki in discussions via video link on Thursday, could lead to the successful completion of a long-term security agreement covering American operations in Iraq -- from combat missions to detaining Iraqis -- by the end of this month, a White House official said. "We're converging on an agreement," the official said, referring to ongoing negotiations between Iraq and the United States on the deal. The long-term agreement had been held up by differences over issues like the extent of Iraqi control over American military operations, the right of American soldiers to detain suspects without the approval of Iraqi authorities and Iraqi demands for a timetable for withdrawal. But in a statement, the White House said Mr. Bush and Mr. Maliki had agreed "that improving conditions should allow for the agreements now under negotiation to include a general time horizon for meeting aspirational goals -- such as the resumption of Iraqi security control in their cities and provinces and the further reduction of U.S. combat forces from Iraq." The White House offered no specific dates for troop cuts, but the inclusion of even just a reference to a time horizon is a significant concession by the Bush administration, which has long resisted setting a timetable for cuts in combat forces. It is a tacit admission that the United States' military presence in Iraq is not endless. The administration on Friday insisted that it had not shifted its position. It said that the move was simply a reflection of the changing nature of conditions in Iraq. "These are aspirational goals, not artificial timetables based on political expediency," said Scott Stanzel, a White House spokesman, who was traveling with Mr. Bush in Tucson, Ariz., where Mr. Bush was attending a fund raiser. Posted by: Fred 2008-07-19 |
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