Jul 19, 2008 2:09 pm US/Central
Iraq's Maliki Supports Obama Plan For Withdrawal
BAGHDAD (CBS) ―
In an interview with the German magazine Der Spiegel, Iraq's Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki said he supported a plan proposed by Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama to withdraw U.S. troops from Iraq within 16 months.
When asked when he thinks U.S. troops should leave Iraq, al-Maliki told the magazine, "As soon as possible, as far as we are concerned."
He added, "U.S. presidential candidate Barack Obama is right when he talks about 16 months."
Al-Maliki deferred, however, from offering outright support for Obama's candidacy. "Of course, this is by no means an election endorsement," he said. "Who they choose as their president is the Americans' business."
The prime minister, who has spoken of setting a timetable for U.S. withdrawal - an option that has been anathema to the White House - discounted the Bush adminstration's concerns.
"So far the Americans have had trouble agreeing to a concrete timetable for withdrawal, because they feel it would appear tantamount to an admission of defeat," al-Maliki told Der Spiegel. "But that isn't the case at all. If we come to an agreement, it is not evidence of a defeat, but of a victory, of a severe blow we have inflicted on al Qaeda and the militias."
Brown: No Artificial Timetable
British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said Saturday that plans are being made to scale back troops in Iraq, but refused to consider an "artificial timetable" for withdrawing Britain's remaining 4,000 soldiers.
Brown's comments - following meetings with Iraqi leaders - come in advance of next week's scheduled address to British lawmakers on Iraq, when he is expected to give more details on troop reduction plans as insurgent attacks and militia violence drops sharply around Iraq.
No specific troop withdrawal figures have been made public, but a senior British military officer has predicted substantial troop cuts in Iraq next year.
"It is certainly our intention that we reduce troop numbers, but I am not going to give an artificial timetable at the moment," Brown said following talks with Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and President Jalal Talabani.
A departure of more British forces will have little bearing on the battlefield. The troops, mostly based outside the southern city of Basra, no longer have a combat role and are involved mostly with training Iraqi security units.
Although Britain maintains the second-largest foreign military force in Iraq, it is dwarfed by the approximately 150,000 U.S. soldiers currently in the country.
Sunnis End Year-Long Boycott Of Parliament
Iraq's largest Sunni Arab political bloc has ended a nearly year-long boycott of the Shiite-led government.
The move Saturday comes after parliament approved six Sunni officials to fill vacant seats in the Cabinet. The return of the National Accordance Front is seen as an important step in political reconciliation and efforts to cement the security gains against Sunni insurgent factions such as al Qaeda in Iraq.
Lawmakers unanimously approved the Sunni candidates for the post of deputy prime minister and to lead five other government ministries.
The Accordance Front pulled its members out of the Cabinet in August, complaining they did not have enough say in important decisions. The Front also holds 44 seats in the 275-member parliament.
(© 2008 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
