WASHINGTON, July 8 (Xinhua) -- Iraqi Prime Minister
Nuri al-Maliki's public demand for the U.S. troops withdrawal timetable from the
country fueled on Tuesday the debate between Democratic presidential candidate
Barack Obama and his Republican rival John McCain on Iraq policy.
McCain insisted that any further withdrawal of U.S.
troops in Iraq should be based on security situation on the ground.
U.S. Republican presidential candidate
Senator John McCain smiles as he addresses a League of United Latin
American Citizens conference in Washington, July 8,
2008. (Xinhua/Reuters Photo) Photo Gallery>>>
"I have always said we will come home with honor and
with victory and not through a set timetable," he said in an interview with
MSNBC, adding that Iraqis would act in their own national interests and so does
the United States.
The Arizona senator warned that despite recent
security gains, "the victory we have achieved so far is fragile and (the
redeployment) has to be dictated by events and on the ground."
Al-Maliki told Arab ambassadors to the United Arab
Emirates on Monday that he has pressed for a withdrawal timetable when
negotiating with the United States on an agreement about American forces status
beyond 2008.
U.S. Democratic presidential candidate
Senator Barack Obama, speaks during a town hall meeting at McEachern High
School in Powder Springs, Georgia, July 8, 2008. (Xinhua/Reuters
Photo) Photo
Gallery>>>
It
was the first time for the Iraqi leader to publicly announced that he had
demanded a timetable for a U.S. withdrawal.
For his part, Obama told reporters in St. Louis,
Missouri, that Maliki's remarks was in line with his own policy on Iraq.
"I think that his statement is consistent with my
view about how withdrawals should proceed," the Illinois senator said. "I think
it's encouraging ... that the prime minister himself now acknowledges that in
cooperation with Iraq, it's time for American forces to start sending out a
timeframe for the withdrawal.
He urged the current government and McCain who was
considered echoing President George W. Bush's Iraq policy to listen to the Iraqi
leader.
However, Obama, who has vowed to begin withdrawing
all U.S. combat troops in Iraq in the first 16 months after he takes the White
House, noted last week that he might redefine the Iraq policy after he listens
to the military commanders in Iraq when traveling to the country later this
month.
In response to Maliki, the White House said on Monday
that the Iraqi government was not negotiating a "hard date" for a U.S.
withdrawal from Iraq but it did not rule out discussions on "time-frames" with
Baghdad.
WASHINGTON, July 8 (Xinhua) -- The United States said on Tuesday
the withdrawal of its troops in Iraq will be based on conditions on
the ground and rejected the Iraqi demand to set a timetable for a
pull-out.
"The U.S. government and the government of Iraq are
in agreement that we, the U.S. government, we want to withdraw, we will
withdraw. However, that decision will be conditions-based," State Department
spokesman Gonzalo Gallegos said.
"We're looking at conditions, not calendars here,"
Gallegos said, adding that the United States is committed to
departing. Full story
BAGHDAD, July 8 (Xinhua) -- Iraq's
National Security Advisor Muwafaq al-Rubaie said Tuesday that his country will reject
any security pact with the United States unless a specific date for withdrawal
of U.S.-led troops is set, according to reports from the holy city of
Najaf.
"Our stance in the negotiations with the Americans
will be strong. We will not sign any memorandum of understanding without
specifying a date for the withdrawal of foreign troops from Iraq," Rubaie told
reporters in Najaf. Full story
