Posted on 12/06/2005 7:48:23 AM PST by Valin
TOKYO (Reuters) - Iraq wants multinational forces to stay until it has built up a military that is capable of maintaining security in the country, Iraqi Prime Minister Ibrahim Jaafari said on Tuesday. In a news conference during a visit to Japan, Jaafari also praised the conduct of the court handling the trial of former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein, saying it was democratic and just.
"We don't want this withdrawal to happen before we fully have established our armed forces and they are capable of maintaining security and peace in Iraq," Jaafari said through an interpreter, referring to multinational forces in Iraq.. "We hope that the process of withdrawal of multinational forces from Iraq will be planned and executed together with the Iraqi government," he said.
Jaafari praised the conduct of the court trying Saddam Hussein, and said the government would protect its independence. "They are giving him (Saddam Hussein) ample opportunity to talk," he said.
U.S. President George W. Bush has rejected calls for a timetable to pull U.S. troops from Iraq. But U.S. defense officials said last month that the Pentagon planned to reduce the number of U.S. troops in Iraq, currently 155,000, to about 138,000 after next month's election. This could be reduced further to about 100,000 next summer if conditions allowed.
JAPANESE TROOPS
Jaafari, who met Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi on Monday, said the Iraqi government appreciated the activities of Japanese troops in Iraq and wanted them to stay. "We need their service in Iraq. We need them to continue," Jaafari said.
He also expressed hope that Tokyo would play a bigger role in reconstruction, noting that Japan had provided $5.0 billion in grant aid and soft loans to Iraq and also had agreed to a reduction of Iraq's debt. Japan, which has sent some 550 ground troops to Samawa in southern Iraq for reconstruction and humanitarian assistance, is widely expected to announce an extension to the mission's mandate, which expires on December 14.
In the latest report on Japan's plans, Kyodo news agency said the government would decide on a one-year extension on Thursday, but would aim to withdraw the troops by summer of 2006. Japan's dispatch has won praise from close ally Washington, but is opposed by most Japanese voters. In a Mainichi newspaper poll published in October, 77 percent of those surveyed said they were against an extension.
"They are giving him (Saddam Hussein) ample opportunity to talk," he said.
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IMHO, he never should have been taken alive.
Makes sense to me...
Obviously having us be his police force is better than doing it himself. [it also keeps him in power]. No brainer. Let's see how elections change things.
Our troops getting their collective footie prints all over the desert is what is causing all the trouble. Not to mention that not having enough troops there is causing them all this trouble.
So which is it? Too many troops or not enough?
You almost sound like a Democrat....
Of course, he wants his sugar daddy to stay. People on welfare often want to be "helped" rather than stand on their own.
did i miss something? Where does Pelosi's name appear and where does she tell him to "drop dead?"
From the stanpoint of the US, I agree. But the trial, conviction, and execution of the Butcher of Baghdad will be a defining moment in the developing history of the Iraqi representative democracy.
JMO
...the Butcher of Baghdad will be a defining moment in the developing history of the Iraqi representative democracy.
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Yes, I agree. It will be, but they should make haste, to also show that the democratic judicial process is SWIFT AND JUST. Not something that can be manipulated by every POS on the planet...like Sadman Insane.
Open plug, drop grenades - "fire in the hole!"
Need to check DNA!
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