Iraq's al-Maliki: US will stay in insecure areas
Quote:
BAGHDAD – U.S. troops will not be removed from areas of Iraq that are not completely secure or where there is a high probability that attacks could resume after the Americans leave, Iraq's prime minister said Sunday.
(a)Nouri al-Maliki said in an interview with The Associated Press that he had told President Barack Obama and other top U.S. officials that any withdrawals "must be done with our approval" and in coordination with the Iraqi government.
"I do not want any withdrawals except in areas considered 100 percent secure and under control," al-Maliki said during his flight from Australia to Baghdad at the end of a five-day visit.
"Any area where there is a likelihood of a resumption of attacks, withdrawals from there will be postponed," he said.
The U.S.-Iraq security pact that went into effect Jan. 1 calls for U.S. combat forces to leave the cities by the end of June in the first step of a plan to remove all American troops from Iraq by the end of 2011.
(b)In Washington, a senior administration official said Obama "has talked with and consulted with the Iraqis" and has said that "obviously we want to sustain the security gains of the last year."
He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was referring to private conversations.
Al-Maliki did not specify areas where the removal of U.S. troops might be delayed. But those areas would likely include Mosul, the country's third largest city, and Diyala province northeast of Baghdad.
Al-Qaida and other Sunni extremist groups operate in both areas, despite repeated offensives by U.S. and Iraqi forces. An Iraqi soldier was killed Sunday in a bombing in Mosul and a police lieutenant colonel was shot dead in another part of the city, police said.
"I want to leave it very clear that there's no cessation of combat operations" after June 30, Rudesheim told reporters in Baghdad's heavily guarded Green Zone.
"We understand that we're going to have the vast majority of our formations moving out of the city proper and moving to the rural belts," he said.
"We will not forsake the security that has been established by the Iraqi security forces and coalition forces," he said.
Rudesheim said U.S. military transition teams that train Iraqi forces will remain at posts within the city.
|
(a) I'm just curious here, When did this guy start dictating US policy?
(b) Wow, admitting that we made gains last year. I found that interesting.
This article has a lot more info in it that I haven't seen available elsewhere.