Iraq Wants Quick withdrawal of U.S. Troops

Found this off the Associated Press:

BAGHDAD, Iraq (July 27) - Iraq's transitional prime minister called Wednesday for a speedy withdrawal of U.S. troops and the top U.S. commander here said he believed a "fairly substantial" pullout could begin next spring and summer.

Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari said at a joint news conference with Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld that the time has arrived to plan a coordinated transition from American to Iraqi military control throughout the country.

Asked how soon a U.S. withdrawal should happen, he said no exact timetable had been set. "But we confirm and we desire speed in that regard," he said, speaking through a translator. "And this fast pace has two aspects."

First, there must be a quickening of the pace of U.S. training of Iraqi security forces, and second there must be closely coordinated planning between the U.S.-led military coalition and the emerging Iraq government on a security transition, he said.

"We do not want to be surprised by a withdrawal that is not in connection with our Iraqi timing,"' he said.

Speaking earlier with U.S. reporters traveling with Rumsfeld, Gen. George Casey, the top American commander in Iraq, said he believed a U.S. troop withdrawal could begin by spring 2006 if progress continues on the political front and if the insurgency does not expand.

Two things struck me about this story. The first is that the provisional Iraqi government wants the U.S. troops out as quickly as possible. That's pretty much a no-brainer since the war is raging in Iraq between the U.S. troops and the insurgents. The second thing that struck me was that Rumsfeld and Gen. George Casey, the top American commander in Iraq, again brought up this idea that U.S. troops could begin a withdrawal by the spring of 2006. Talk of a withdrawal in 2006--a withdrawal that would take place during an election year, at a time when the American public is turning against the Bush administration's the war in Iraq, and have voiced a disapproval of the Republicans in public opinion polls. And of course, any withdrawal would depend upon the training of Iraqi forces and the progress of the insurgency.

I'd say you're going to hear more of this White House PR spin about U.S. troops pulling out of Iraq in 2006, as the midterm elections come upon us. But don't be surprised if the U.S. will increase their troop levels in Iraq in 2007.