US military in Iraq denies troop withdrawal plan

BAGHDAD (Reuters) – Media reports that America and Britain
plan to pull all their troops out of Iraq by the spring of 2007
are “completely false,” the U.S. military in Iraq said on
Sunday, reiterating there is no timetable for withdrawal.

Two British newspapers reported in their Sunday editions
that the pull-out plan followed an acceptance by the two
governments that the presence of foreign troops in Iraq was now
a large obstacle to securing peace.

But a spokesman for the U.S. military in Iraq reiterated
previous statements by U.S. and Iraqi officials that foreign
troops will be gradually withdrawn from the Arab country once
Iraqi security forces are capable of guaranteeing security.

“This news report on a withdrawal of forces within a set
timeframe is completely false,” Lieutenant Colonel Barry
Johnson said of the stories in Britain’s Sunday Telegraph and
Sunday Mirror, which quoted unnamed senior defense ministry
sources.

“As we’ve said over and over again, any withdrawal will be
linked to the ability of the Iraqi security forces to maintain
domestic order on behalf of a representative Iraqi government
that respects the rights of all its citizens. This is an
ongoing assessment and not linked to any timeframe,” he said.

There are currently about 135,000 U.S. soldiers and Marines
and about 8,500 British troops in Iraq. The full U.S.-led
coalition numbers around 160,000. Italy, with the fourth
largest contingent in Iraq, has said it plans to pull out this
year.

U.S. and British troops have trained 230,000 Iraqis to take
on roles in the police force and a slowly expanding Iraqi army,
but both are currently incapable of securing the country on
their own.

The U.S. military withdrew around 15,000 troops after Iraq
held successful elections in December for its first full-term
parliament since the overthrow of Saddam Hussein in 2003.

Tensions in Iraq have soared over the past two weeks as
fighting between the country’s main Muslim sects has
intensified following the February 22 bombing of Shi’ite
shrine.

Militants are waging a two-year-old insurgency against the
U.S.-backed Iraqi government, its security forces and foreign
troops.

The recent sectarian violence has provoked fears that the
country is on the brink of civil war, a scenario that could
greatly complicate the role of foreign troops.

But the Sunday Telegraph, quoting a defense official, said
that if civil war were to break out, it would likely cause the
withdrawal plan to be put off.