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| Iraq |
| Rumsfeld: no immediate troop withdrawal |
| 2003-11-16 |
| The new accelerated plan for restoring self-rule in Iraq does not mean U.S. troops will withdraw anytime soon, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said Sunday. In an interview en route to a U.S. Air Force base in southern Japan, Rumsfeld was asked about the plan to restore Iraq’s sovereignty by June. ``The time table or the way ahead that the (Iraqi) Governing Council has been describing relates to the governance aspects of the country and not to the security aspects,’’ he said. ``That’s on a separate track.’’ Rumsfeld said the United States continues to plan to rotate a new contingent of troops into Iraq next year, with no final pullout date set yet. Accelerating the political process will not affect military planning, he said. ``This has nothing to do with U.S. troops and coalition troops in Iraq,’’ he said. The plan, endorsed by the Iraqi Governing Council Saturday, reflects Washington’s desire to speed up the hand over of power as attacks against American occupation forces grow more sophisticated and deadly. It came as the U.S. death toll since the war began passed the 400 mark. Yup, we’ll be there a while. |
| Posted by:Steve White |