| Submit your comments on this article |
| Iraq |
| Iraq demands ''very clear'' US troop timeline |
| 2008-08-10 |
| BAGHDAD - Iraq insists the United States provide a ''very clear timeline'' for withdrawing its troops as part of an agreement allowing them to stay on beyond this year, Foreign Minister Hoshiyar Zebari said on Sunday. In an interview with Reuters, Zebari said the agreement, including the timeline, was "very close" and would probably be presented to the Iraqi parliament in early September. Asked if Iraq would accept a document that did not include dates for a withdrawal, Zebari said: "No, no. Definitely there has to be a very clear timeline." It was the strongest public assertion yet that Iraq is demanding a fixed timetable. U.S. President George W. Bush has long resisted setting a firm schedule for pulling troops out of Iraq, although last month the White House began speaking of a general "time horizon" and "aspirational goals" to withdraw. Zebari would not be drawn on the precise dates that Iraqi negeotiators are seeking for withdrawal, saying the document was not yet final. Iraqi officials have said they would like to see all combat troops out by Oct. 2010. An agreement that included that date would require the Bush administration effectively to accept a timeline almost identical to the one proposed by Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama, who opposed the 2003 invasion |
| Posted by:GolfBravoUSMC |
| #5 yeah OS, but the Iraqis, while supporting conditions based withdrawl, have every incentive to make it sound more like unconditional A. They have lots of internal constituents (not excluding Ayattolah Sistani) who distrust the US and want a more rigid timeline B. they have the likelihood of a President Obama, and by appearing to want a more rigid timeline, they help him, and may view these as chits to be used after Jan '09. McCain, OTOH, who is committed to victory in Iraq, AND who is less likely to win, has less leverage. |
| Posted by: liberalhawk 2008-08-10 17:15 |
| #4 This article is a deliberate miscast of the entire process. The Iraqis want a "timeline" for checking conditions and meeting them, as a framework for the drawdown of US combat forces. As I've said many times it goes like this: As of DATE, if conditions COND-1 COND-2... COND-N are met, US Combat forces equating to UNIT-TYPE UNIT-SIZE Will be begin planning for disengagement, and if conditions are still satisfied after TIME-LIMIT they will begin redeployment out of Iraq within N-DAYS (ex 120), and will complete redeployement within M-Days (ex 90). For example... As of 20 SEP 2009, if conditions of 10,000 certified trained INP and 30,000 IA are based and operational independantly, No IED attacks and No AQI bombing operations, and no secular milita attacks have occured within the past 90 days in Diyala province, US Combat forces equating to One Stryker Brigade Combat Team will be begin planning for disengagement, and if conditions are still satisfied after 120 Days (Jan 20, 2010), they will begin execution of the redeployment out of Iraq within 90 (20 APR 2010), and will complete redeployement within 90 Days (20 JUL 2010). Any incidents that violate the conditions will reset the timers for the redeployment. You'd have multiple (overlapping) sets of each of these condition driven date-tagged withdrawals. That's the framework. It gives the Iraqis a "time" (politically important), but it also gives them and us a gurantee that its based on conditions, and we will not leave them hanging (militarily important). |
| Posted by: OldSpook 2008-08-10 17:08 |
| #3 In an interview with Reuters,.. Ah, come on guys. After all these years you go for that bait. Check the source. On my reliability meter, that still below cold BS, maybe not as high as hot steamy. That requires poking it a few times more to see if there's any real substance to the matter. Maybe a chunk or two, but the whole body appears a bit foul considering where it came from. |
| Posted by: Procopius2k 2008-08-10 10:44 |
| #2 As previously believed, Uday and Qusay and NOT dead foreign minisgter Zebari. If you continue to bite the hand, we will re-establish them as the rightful heirs to Iraq. |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2008-08-10 10:38 |
| #1 Very clear. For example, if Obama is elected, the Iraqis want that US troops should withdraw the day before inauguration day. If John McCain is elected, the day before inauguration day in 2013, or 2017, if he is re-elected. |
| Posted by: Anonymoose 2008-08-10 09:47 |