Iraqi Leaders Applaud US Pullout Plan

VOA News 28 February 2009

Nouri al-Maliki (file photo)

Iraqi leaders are welcoming U.S. plans to pull American combat troops out of Iraq by the end of August 2010

Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki says his country's security forces have proven they are ready to take over.

He also said Saturday that the U.S. has agreed on the need to provide Iraq with more weapons and other military equipment.
U.S. President Barack Obama briefed Mr. Maliki on the withdrawal plans Friday, before making an announcement at Camp Lejeune, a U.S. military base in the southeastern state of North Carolina.

Iraqi Vice President Tariq al-Hashemi also hailed the U.S. pullout, though he said Saturday that the U.S. still has a responsibility to further prepare Iraqi forces.

President Barack Obama speaks about combat troop levels in Iraq as he addresses military personnel at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, 27 Feb 2009

President Obama said Friday that Iraq is not yet secure and that the U.S. will continue to pursue diplomatic and political efforts to support the country's security and improve local government. He also said the U.S. has a "strategic interest" and "moral responsibility" to help resettle refugees displaced by the war

Under the plan, up to 50,000 troops could stay in Iraq to help with training and to combat terrorism. He said he intends to remove all troops by the end of 2011, in accordance with a U.S.-Iraq security deal.

About 142,000 U.S. troops are currently serving in Iraq.

A new American embassy in Iraq

The new US embassy in Iraq was opened Monday, January 5, within the Green Zone. The Iraqi prime-minister, Nouri al-Maliki, was absent, while on a two-day visit in Iran, more than three weeks ahead the parliamentary elections, a new test of the nascent democracy from Baghdad. The works at the embassy lasted for three years. The event is considered a moved towards a normalization of the diplomatic and political life in the former dictatorship run country.