Washington – The U.S. is pushing Iraqi leaders to step up the pace in forming a unity government, hoping insurgents do not take advantage of the political uncertainty, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Sunday.
Echoing military commanders, Rice also said that if Iraqis assume greater control of their country’s security, then the U.S. could significantly draw down troops this year.
The senior Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee criticized Rice’s “excuses” for the lack of progress and urged President Bush to make clear to Iraqis that U.S. troops will stay only if Iraqis achieve a political compromise.
“They’re doing it … more slowly than we would hope,” Rice said. “And we’ve pressed that they need to expedite because of the potential for a political vacuum.”
Negotiations to form a government in Baghdad are in their third month. Iraqi leaders have predicted a government will be offered to parliament for approval within two months.
“I think they’re doing a remarkable job,” Rice told “Late Edition” on CNN. “The only reason that people are pressing them to get it done more quickly is that there is a violent insurgency that might try to take advantage of the period of time in which there isn’t a government.
“This is the first time that Shia, Sunnis and Kurds have really had a chance to sit down and talk to each other about these very difficult issues,” she said.
Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, D-Mass., said that U.S. troops are “a crutch” for Iraq and that their presence continues to fuel the insurgency.
“The best way to remove that crutch is to see a substantial withdrawal of American troops. That’s what I’m for,” Kennedy said on CBS’ “Face the Nation.”
Rice said she thinks it is “entirely probable that we will see a significant drawdown of American forces over the next year.”
“It’s all dependent on events on the ground,” she told NBC’s “Meet the Press.”
