Originally published by the Voice of America (www.voanews.com).
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August 22, 2008

Negotiators Say US Troops to Leave Iraq by 2011
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http://enews.voanews.com/t?ctl=1DD229E:A6F02AD83191E160748ABAAFDD85DE0670AD7039DCD7B7E4&
 
Officials quoted as saying draft agreement also calls for US forces to
pull back from Iraqi cities by June 2009 
A U.S. army soldier patrols a street on the outskirts of Baquba, the
capital of Iraq's Diyala province, 19 Aug 2008U.S. and Iraqi negotiators
are reported to have agreed on the complete withdrawal of U.S. combat
troops from Iraq by 2011 - if conditions are right. The officials are
quoted Friday as saying the draft agreement also calls for U.S. forces
to pull back from Iraqi cities by June 2009.Iraq's chief negotiator,
Mohammed al-Haj Hamoud, says although negotiators on both sides agreed
to the timetable, the pace of the U.S. troop pullout can be changed
depending on conditions in Iraq. U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza
Rice, in Baghdad for a brief visit Thursday, said both sides had been
close to a security deal that will determine the future status of U.S.
forces in Iraq. But she said it contained what she described as an
"aspirational" timetable - as opposed to any firm dates - for
withdrawing U.S. troops from Iraq. US Secretary of State Condoleezza
Rice and Iraqi FM Hoshyar Zebari after joint press conference in Green
Zone in Baghdad, 21 Aug 2008Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari said
after the talks that a draft security agreement has been sent to Iraqi
Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki for review. Iraq's radical Shi'ite cleric
Moqtada al-Sadr denounced Rice's visit, and called on Iraqi leaders to
reject any deal that allows U.S. forces to continue what he calls their
"occupation" of Iraq. U.S. officials say the proposed security pact
calls for U.S. combat troops to leave Iraqi cities and relocate to bases
in Iraq as soon as next June. The security deal would govern U.S. troop
levels in Iraq after the U.S. force's U.N. mandate expires at the end of
this year. The two sides also are discussing how much immunity U.S.
soldiers will have from Iraqi law. The Bush administration says it will
inform Congress when a deal is reached but will not submit the document
to lawmakers for approval.

Some information for this report was provided by AFP.


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