US President George W. Bush and Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki have agreed to set a “time horizon” for US troop withdrawals as part of a long-term security pact. But White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said on Friday any reduction in the US force presence “would be based on continued improving conditions on the ground and not an arbitrary date for withdrawal.”
The two leaders, speaking by video conference on Thursday, also settled on a “common way forward” in stumbling talks to craft a long-term pact governing diplomatic ties and the US military presence, Perino said.
Washington says the agreement is necessary to lay the ground rules for US forces that will still operate in the war-torn country after the UN mandate for their presence expires at the end of this year.
But the talks have sputtered over the Baghdad government’s demands for a timetable for US troops to withdraw as well as Washington’s demands that its soldiers and other staff be immune from Iraqi prosecution.
In their latest talks, “the leaders agreed on a common way forward to conclude these negotiations as soon as possible,” Perino said in a statement that made no mention of Bush’s hopes that the accord would be sealed this month.
They also agreed that the pact would “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 US combat forces from Iraq,” she said.
The announcement came at a pivotal time in the US presidential campaign, with Democratic candidate Barack Obama expected to visit Iraq soon amid Republican rival John McCain’s attacks on his plan for pulling US combat forces out of Iraq within 16 months after the White House changes hands in January.
McCain said the agreement “is further evidence that the surge [of additional US troops into Iraq begun last year] has succeeded,” adding that most US forces used in the surge have already been withdrawn.
“When a further conditions-based withdrawal of US forces is possible, it will be because we and our Iraqi partners built on the successes of the surge strategy, which Senator Obama opposed, predicted would fail, voted against and campaigned against in the primary,” he said in a statement.
Obama’s campaign spokesman Bill Burton described Friday’s announcement as “a step in the right direction,” but said it was now “time to pressure Iraq’s leaders to reach the political accommodation necessary for long-term stability and to refocus on strengthening our military and finishing the fight in Afghanistan.”
Where the White House referred to reducing troop levels, not quitting Iraq entirely, Iraqi government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh said the goal was “to decrease the number of American forces in Iraq and later withdraw them.”
Perino said that US forces would move “from a primary combat role” to what Washington calls an “overwatch role” of training and advising Iraqi forces, and carrying out special forces operations.
“This transition and the subsequent reduction in US forces from Iraq is a testament to the improving capacity of Iraq’s Security Forces and the success of joint operations” begun in January last year, she said.
This was when Bush announced he was “surging” 30,000 more US troops into Iraq to quell sectarian violence seen as crippling efforts to pass laws considered key to national reconciliation.
At the time, Bush also set a timetable of November last year for Iraqis to take full control for their own security.
US-led forces have transferred security in 10 of the country’s 18 provinces to Iraqi forces, the most recent being in Diwaniyah on Wednesday.
US officials say violence across Iraq has fallen to its lowest point since 2004, and Iraqi leaders say they can take over security in the remaining eight provinces by the end of this year.
Bush administration officials now say that they are negotiating an agreement that would establish the legal authority for US commanders to conduct combat operations, control airspace and detain Iraqi prisoners, the New York Times reported yesterday.
SEEKING CHANGE: A hospital worker said she did not vote in previous elections, but ‘now I can see that maybe my vote can change the system and the country’ Voting closed yesterday across the Solomon Islands in the south Pacific nation’s first general election since the government switched diplomatic allegiance from Taiwan to Beijing and struck a secret security pact that has raised fears of the Chinese navy gaining a foothold in the region. The Solomon Islands’ closer relationship with China and a troubled domestic economy weighed on voters’ minds as they cast their ballots. As many as 420,000 registered voters had their say across 50 national seats. For the first time, the national vote also coincided with elections for eight of the 10 local governments. Esther Maeluma cast her vote in the
Nearly half of China’s major cities are suffering “moderate to severe” levels of subsidence, putting millions of people at risk of flooding, especially as sea levels rise, according to a study of nationwide satellite data released yesterday. The authors of the paper, published by the journal Science, found that 45 percent of China’s urban land was sinking faster than 3mm per year, with 16 percent at more than 10mm per year, driven not only by declining water tables, but also the sheer weight of the built environment. With China’s urban population already in excess of 900 million people, “even a small portion
UNSETTLING IMAGES: The scene took place in front of TV crews covering the Trump trial, with a CNN anchor calling it an ‘emotional and unbelievably disturbing moment’ A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former US president Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said yesterday. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said the man was declared dead by staff at an area hospital. The man was in Collect Pond Park at about 1:30pm on Friday when he took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories, tossed them around, then doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire, officials and witnesses said. A large number of police officers were nearby when it happened. Some officers and bystanders rushed
HYPOCRISY? The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday asked whether Biden was talking about China or the US when he used the word ‘xenophobic’ US President Joe Biden on Wednesday called for a hike in steel tariffs on China, accusing Beijing of cheating as he spoke at a campaign event in Pennsylvania. Biden accused China of xenophobia, too, in a speech to union members in Pittsburgh. “They’re not competing, they’re cheating. They’re cheating and we’ve seen the damage here in America,” Biden said. Chinese steel companies “don’t need to worry about making a profit because the Chinese government is subsidizing them so heavily,” he said. Biden said he had called for the US Trade Representative to triple the tariff rates for Chinese steel and aluminum if Beijing was