|
Iraqi leaders demand timetable for troop withdrawal
By Agence France Presse
11/21/05 "AFP" -- -- CAIRO - Iraqi leaders reached a tentative
agreement Monday to demand a timetable for the withdrawal of foreign
troops from their war-torn country during talks ahead of a
reconciliation conference to be held next year.
Dozens of leaders representing most of Iraq's factions have been
holding tough talks in Cairo since Saturday in a bid to reach a
common agenda.
In a draft final statement, a copy of which was obtained by AFP,
they demanded "a timetable for the immediate withdrawal of foreign
troops".
The draft also advocates "immediately setting up a national
programme to rebuild the armed forces in a way that will allow them
to control the security situation and put an end to terrorist
operations".
Iraq's disempowered Sunni community had long made the timetable one
of its main demands before returning to the political arena.
But the current government -- dominated by the Shiite and Kurdish
communities formerly oppressed by Saddam Hussein's ousted regime --
has so far stressed that a hasty troop withdrawal would plunge the
country into chaos.
The United States, which leads the coalition of foreign forces
occupying Iraq, has consistently said it would not stay indefinitely
in Iraq but refused to announce a timetable.
The US ambassador to Iraq, Zalmay Khalilzad, said Monday it was
"possible to begin adjusting our forces downwards, meaning begin to
withdraw, some forces beginning next year".
But he warned that a total pullout by November 2006 would be
premature.
"I think a total withdrawal of US forces by then is unrealistic. I
don't think the Iraqis will be ready to completely take over the
mission by themselves by that time," he said on CNN television.
Apart from discussing the withdrawal of foreign troops, the planned
reconciliation conference aims to lessen the ongoing insurgency by
expanding political dialogue.
Iraqi President Jalal Talabani told the Egyptian daily Al-Ahram that
a large part of the insurgency could be won over if a common
political agenda was agreed at the Cairo talks.
"A success of the Cairo talks will allow us to ... bring the
resistance of the Arab nationalists to an end," he said.
But Iraq's most feared insurgent group, Al-Qaeda in Iraq, led by
Jordanian-born Abu Musab al-Zarqawi has rejected any dialogue,
saying the "sword and blood" were the only ways forward.
© 2005 Agence France Presse
Translate
this page
(In accordance with Title 17
U.S.C. Section 107, this material is distributed without profit to
those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the
included information for research and educational purposes.
Information Clearing House has no affiliation whatsoever with the
originator of this article nor is Information Clearing House
endorsed or sponsored by the originator.) |
