al-Jaafari: Leave Iraq "as soon as feasible," just don't tell us when

[Bush_Eats_Beef]

Looks like the memo from Cheney arrived in al-Jaafari's in box.


http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=578&u=/nm/20050624/ts_nm/iraq_usa_jaafari_dc_2

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -
Iraq would like to see U.S. forces withdraw as soon as feasible, but setting a date for their departure would be a mistake, Iraqi Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari said in an interview published on Friday.

"We would like to see the withdrawal of American forces as quickly as possible, because the presence of any foreign troops on our land means there is a weakness that we cannot by ourselves control the security situation," Jaafari said in an interview with The Washington Post.

But a deadline would "play into the hands of the terrorists," Jaafari said on the eve of a meeting with President Bush at the White House on Friday. Some U.S. lawmakers, including a few from Bush's own Republican Party, have called for a deadline to begin withdrawing American troops from Iraq.

But the White House and the Pentagon have rejected the idea, saying insurgents would simply wait for a withdrawal and then renew their fight.

[LaurenG]

1. Memo? You mean order right. nt