Amman, Jordan – President Bush on Thursday dismissed calls for U.S. troop withdrawals from Iraq as unrealistic, saying American forces would “stay in Iraq to get the job done, so long as the government wants us there.”
Speaking after a summit meeting with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, Bush also offered a strong endorsement of the embattled Iraqi leader, calling him “the right guy for Iraq.”
They met for about two hours in the Jordanian capital, discussing how to crack down on the sectarian violence ravaging Iraq and what could be done to speed the turnover of security responsibilities from U.S.-led foreign troops to Iraqi forces.
In the news conference that followed, Bush sought to pre- empt a growing clamor to start a phased withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq, a proposed policy shift that has gained traction as a result of the Nov. 7 congressional elections and that is expected to be endorsed by the Iraq Study Group, a bipartisan commission headed by former secretary of state James Baker and former Rep. Lee Hamilton, D-Ind. The United States has more than 140,000 troops in Iraq.
Although the president was not asked directly about the panel’s recommendations, which will be made public next week but which were partially leaked to reporters late Wednesday, he did say that “this business about graceful exit just simply has no realism to it whatsoever.”
Later, National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley told reporters aboard Air Force One that Bush would start making changes in his Iraq policy soon after receiving the study group’s recommendations and the reports of other high-level review panels.
“There is a real sense of urgency, but there is not a sense of panic,” Hadley said, according to Reuters news agency.
Al-Maliki, meanwhile, declared that he is moving to disarm militias in Iraq and expects government forces to assume full control of security duties by June.
“I can say that Iraqi forces will be ready, fully ready, to receive this command and to command its own forces, and I can tell you that by next June, our forces will be ready,” al-Maliki said in an interview with ABC News after his meeting with Bush.
Asked whether he would disarm militias such as the Mahdi Army of Muqtada al-Sadr, an anti-American Shiite cleric, al-Maliki, himself a Shiite, said, “Definitely. And the government is doing that with all militias, with no exception. There will be only the arms for government troops.”
Al-Sadr is seen as perhaps the most powerful political leader in Iraq. The Mahdi Army is the largest and most violent of Iraq’s private Shiite militias, and al-Sadr’s supporters make up one of the biggest blocs in the Iraqi parliament. Although the al-Sadr bloc played a pivotal role in making al-Maliki prime minister, they walked out of parliament and the Cabinet on Wednesday in protest of al-Maliki’s meeting with Bush.
During their news conference, Bush declined to answer directly a question about whether he urged al-Maliki to distance himself from al-Sadr. Bush said that after he and al-Maliki discussed the “political situation” in Iraq, he came away “reassured” by the prime minister’s determination to hold accountable those who break the law – “whether those people be criminals, al-Qaeda, militia, whoever.”
Asked whether he would break with al-Sadr, al-Maliki did not answer directly, noting that al-Sadr’s faction is only one part of his ruling coalition and that all those participating in the government bear responsibilities.
“I do not talk about one side or the other,” he said. “I’m talking about a state; I’m talking about law; I’m talking about commitments. And this should apply to all the partners who have chosen to participate in the political process.”
According to Iraqi sources, Bush didn’t press al-Maliki to take stronger action against al-Sadr or the Shiite militias, which U.S. commanders in Baghdad have repeatedly called the principal impediment to restoring order in Iraq.
Iraq update
Developments
President Bush meets with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki in Jordan and declares him “the right guy for Iraq.” Al-Maliki says Iraqi forces could assume full control of security duties by June.
In Baghdad, Iraqi police clash with al-Mahdi Army fighters in the militia’s stronghold of Sadr City in a 90-minute battle.
Casualties
The U.S. military says an American soldier was killed in Baghdad on Thursday and another died in the capital Wednesday.
Iraqi army soldiers discover a grave Thursday containing the recent remains of at least 28 apparent death-squad victims south of Baqubah.
Nine bodies are found in Baghdad, all showing signs of torture and execution-style shootings, and at least 23 people are killed in clashes and bomb attacks.
Fourteen suspected insurgents are killed in Samarra by U.S. helicopters and other aircraft.
