WORLD / Middle East
Iraq makes plans for quick US pullout
(AP)
Updated: 2007-05-22 05:45
BAGHDAD - Iraq's military is drawing up plans to cope with any quick U.S.
military pullout, the defense minister said Monday, as a senior American
official warned that the Bush administration may reconsider its support
if Iraqi leaders don't make major reforms by fall.
The U.S. official did not say what actions could be taken by the White
House, but his comments reflected the administration's need to show
results in Iraq �� as an answer to pressure by the Democrats in Congress
seeking to set timetables on the U.S. military presence.
Several mortar shells hit the U.S.-controlled Green Zone, one striking
the Iraqi parliament building but causing no casualties �� the latest in
near daily barrages on the nerve center of the U.S. mission and Iraqi
government that underline the country's tenuous security.
At least 58 Iraqis were killed by attacks or found dead across Iraq,
including seven people ambushed on a bus northeast of Baghdad, police
said. The dead included 24 men whose bullet-riddled bodies were found
across Baghdad, apparent victims of sectarian death squads.
British troops clashed with Shiite Muslim gunmen in the southern city of
Basra. Britain's military said one British soldier and a civilian driver
were killed when a supply convoy was attacked in the center of the city,
Iraq's second biggest.
Elsewhere, U.S. troops raided safe houses south of Baghdad but failed to
find three soldiers missing since a May 12 ambush that left four other
Americans and an Iraqi dead.
"We've (identified) some safe houses and we targeted a couple of those
today and they were able to slip away from us. But we're going to come at
things from a different angle," a U.S. spokesman, Maj. Webster Wright,
said without elaborating.
U.S. officers said the search by thousands of U.S. and Iraqi soldiers may
be forcing the kidnappers to move the three Americans frequently,
preventing insurgents from posting pictures of their captives on the
Internet.
"We choose to be cautiously optimistic," Maj. Gen. Rick Lynch told CNN.
"We're pursuing all leads with a passion, but right now we believe our
soldiers are still alive. Each day that passes when we don't see proof of
life, it causes us concern."
With violence raging, pressure is mounting on Prime Minister Nouri
al-Maliki's government to demonstrate progress on key reforms or risk
losing American support for the unpopular war.
On Monday, Defense Minister Abdul-Qader al-Obeidi told reporters Iraq's
military was drawing up plans in case U.S.-led forces left the country
quickly.
"The army plans on the basis of a worst case scenario so as not to allow
any security vacuum," al-Obeidi said. "There are meetings with political
leaders on how we can deal with a sudden pullout."
It was unclear whether al-Obeidi's comment referred to routine
contingency planning or reflected a feeling among Iraqi leaders that the
days of U.S. support may be numbered even though President Bush blocked
an effort by Congress to set a withdrawal timetable.
A White House spokesman, Tony Fratto, said President Bush expressed
confidence in al-Maliki during a telephone call Monday to the Iraqi
leader.
He said the two talked about political progress in Iraq, and al-Maliki
gave Bush updates on two key U.S. demands �� legislation to share Iraq's
oil wealth among its regions and ethnic groups and a reform of the
constitution.
But two senior Iraqi officials told The Associated Press that Bush warned
al-Maliki that Washington expected to see "tangible results quickly" on
the oil bill and other legislation as the price for continued support.
The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren't
supposed to release the information.
In London, a senior U.S. official echoed that warning, saying the Bush
administration wanted signs of progress by fall or it would be forced to
reconsider its policy in Iraq.
The official, who briefed reporters on condition his name not be
published, said the top American diplomat and military commander in Iraq
would submit a report on Iraqi progress in September.
"If one looks at when critical progress is to be made, one would be best
advised to look at this fall as a key point," the official said.
Senior Kurdish lawmaker Mahmoud Othman confirmed that U.S. pressure was
mounting, especially on the oil bill, which was endorsed by the Iraqi
Cabinet three months ago but has yet to come to the floor of parliament.
"The Americans are pressuring us to accept the oil law. Their pressure is
very strong. They want to show Congress that they have done something so
they want the law to be adopted this month. This interference is negative
and will have consequences," Othman told AP.
Kurdish legislators oppose the formula for distributing oil revenues
among the Iraqi communities, arguing for a greater say in how the money
is disbursed.
Major Shiite and Kurdish parties oppose several proposed changes in the
constitution, as well as Sunni Arab demands for a loosening of rules
banning former Saddam Hussein supporters from government jobs.
Prospects for far-reaching agreements among Sunnis, Shiites and Kurds
were thrown into doubt over the weekend when the leader of the largest
Shiite party, Abdul-Aziz al-Hakim, was diagnosed with lung cancer at a
hospital in Houston.
Al-Hakim, who left the U.S. for treatment in Iran, delivered a televised
address Monday in which he said he was suffering from a "limited tumor"
but expected to return to the country soon.
U.S. officials had been counting on al-Hakim to help push through
reforms, and a lengthy absence could make it difficult to deliver Shiite
support.
In other violence, the Iraqi newspaper Azzaman reported Monday that one
of its reporters, Ali Khalil, 22, was kidnapped while leaving a
relative's house in the increasingly volatile Baiyaa neighborhood of
Baghdad and found dead several hours later. He is survived by his wife
and week-old baby, the newspaper said.
The attack came three days after two Iraqi journalists working for ABC
News were ambushed and killed on their way home from work. The New
York-based Committee to Protect Journalists said 104 journalists �� not
including Khalil �� had been killed in Iraq since the 2003 U.S.-led
invasion. About 80 percent of those were Iraqis, it said.
A roadside bomb exploded near a group of Iraqi soldiers patrolling the
Sunni-dominated Adil neighborhood in western Baghdad, killing three and
injuring two others.
In Muqdadiya, about 60 miles north of Baghdad, two gunmen killed two
police officers as they walked by the police station.
Insurgents also fired mortar rounds into a bank in Baqouba while
customers were lined up to collect their pensions, killing two people,
police said.
Top World News
� Dozens killed in Lebanese fighting
� Bush White House fires back at Jimmy Carter
� Sniper rampage in Idaho leaves 3 dead
� Siemens names new chief executive
� 6 US troops die in Baghdad bombing
Today's Top News
� Optimism high at second trade talks
� Audit body vows closer scrutiny
� Hang Seng, DBS win local status
� Iraq makes plans for quick US pullout
� Top luxury brands target smaller Chinese cities
Most Commented/Read Stories in 48 Hours
Learn Chinese, Free Chinese Lesson, Chinese Course, Learning Materials, Mandarin audio lessons, Chinese writing lessons, Chinese vocabulary lists, About chinese characters, News in Chinese, Go to China, Travel to China, Study in China, Teach in China, Dictionaries, Learn Chinese Painting, Your name in Chinese, Chinese calligraphy, Chinese songs, Chinese proverbs, Chinese poetry, Chinese tattoo, Beijing 2008 Olympics, Mandarin Phrasebook, Chinese editor, Pinyin editor, China Travel, Travel to Beijing, Travel to Tibet
