Wed, 21 Jan 2009 08:57:27 GMT
 Ali al-Dabbagh said Baghdad can take control of Iraqi affairs and no longer needs the United States. |
Iraqi government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh said on Wednesday that Baghdad wants the US to withdraw its troops before the end of 2011 -- the departure date sought by former president George W. Bush.
Al-Dabbagh called for the early withdrawal ahead of a Wednesday scheduled meeting between President Barack Obama and his senior commanders in Washington, APTN reported.
The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan will be high on the agenda of the meeting.
The Iraqi state-run al-Sabah newspaper quoted Abbas al-Baiyati, a Shia lawmaker and a member of the parliamentary security committee, as touching on the issue.
"The government is ready to deal with any kind of US troops withdrawal in case the new President Barack Obama rapidly pulls out his troops," said the prominent lawmaker.
"I am sure that the Iraqi political parties are aware of their national and historic responsibilities and they are capable of facing such a possibility," Baiyati said.
In a speech upon taking office on Tuesday, Obama echoed key promises from his historic election campaign. "We will begin to responsibly leave Iraq to its people," he said.
During his presidential campaign, Obama had promised to withdraw US forces from Iraq and redeploy them in Afghanistan where he says terrorist elements have been regrouping.
The Bush administration and Iraq finalized an interim security deal in November that will see all US troops stationed in the oil-rich country removed by the end of 2011.
Under the deal, which needs to be put to a referendum in July 2009, US forces must also leave Iraqi cities by the end of June 2009.
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