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US Stands by 2011 Troop Withdraw Despite Iraqi Officer's Plea

VOA News 12 August 2010

U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates is standing by a deadline for U.S. troops to withdraw from Iraq by the end of next year, despite a senior Iraqi officer's call for them to stay longer.

Gates told reporters Wednesday that the U.S. and Iraqi governments have an agreement setting the deadline for the U.S. withdrawal. He said if a new Iraqi government is formed and wants to talk about extending the U.S. troop presence, the United States is open to that discussion, but the initiative has to come from the Iraqis.

Iraq's most senior military officer, Lieutenant Babakir Zebari, says the United States should leave its troops in Iraq until 2020.

Zebari told a defense conference in Baghdad that it will be another 10 years before the Iraqi army will be able to ensure the country's security.

White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said Wednesday that the United States is on track to end its combat mission in Iraq at the end of the month as planned. He said President Barack Obama is satisfied that the Iraqi military will be able to take over security operations.

Fifty-thousand U.S. troops will remain in Iraq to serve as a transitional force. Mr. Obama has set a goal of removing all U.S. troops in Iraq by the end of 2011.