July 16, 2009 10:53 AM

Bush, Iraq PM Discuss Troop Pullout Plan

(AP)  President Bush and Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki spoke Friday by secure video as work on a plan to withdraw U.S. troops from Iraq by 2011 continued.

"There are still discussions ongoing," said White House spokesman Gordon Johndroe. "It's not done until it's done. And the discussions are really ongoing. And ongoing and ongoing. But hopefully drawing to a conclusion."

The comments contradict reports out of Baghdad that a 27-point withdrawal plan had been approved by the two sides.

Mr. Bush is vacationing at his ranch in Texas.

The deal being discussed by U.S. and Iraqi negotiators sets a course for American combat troops to pull out of major Iraqi cities by next June, with a broader exit two years later from the long and costly war that began in March 2003.

The dates could be adjusted if security and political progress in Iraq deteriorate.

There are about 140,000 U.S. forces in Iraq, according to United States Central Command, and more than 4,100 American troops have been killed there.

Johndroe would not discuss specifics of the plan being negotiated, including the dates when U.S. troops might begin to leave.

Increased security in Iraq, which the Bush administration said is due to the so-called surge of U.S. forces more than a year ago, created the conditions for the troop withdrawal negotiations to take place, Johndroe said.

The talks take place as Sens. John McCain and Barack Obama regularly trade shots over progress in Iraq and argue over who is better suited to be commander in chief when Bush leaves office in January.

Obama, the Democratic nominee in waiting, wants all U.S. forces out of Iraq within 16 months of his taking office, saying they are needed in Afghanistan. Violence in Afghanistan and neighboring Pakistan has increased due to a resurgent Taliban and political instability in Pakistan.

Obama opposed the U.S. invasion of Iraq. And he's said the surge of troops has not led to the political reconciliation needed to ensure the country will remain secure once all U.S. troops are gone.

McCain, the Republican candidate, supported the president's January 2007 decision to add 30,000 U.S. troops in Iraq. Those additional troops have returned home.

McCain has said the security situation in Iraq should dictate any pullout schedule. And he's criticized Obama for not only opposing the troop surge but trying to block the funding that would have allowed the increase.

© 2009 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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by thegoodtexan August 24, 2008 1:31 PM EDT
We never had support to invade Iraq, and that is why we did not do it in 1991. Even after Colin Powels hideous fabrications and untruths at the UN, they did not believe us and refused to sanction the invasion. George Bush invaded anyway, destroyed the country, killed a million people and stole the oil. Now he is a prime candidate for war criminal of the century.
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by prudentvoter August 24, 2008 1:26 PM EDT
We never wanted our country to invade Iraq in the first place. Once they invaded they committed terrible atrocities, killing unarmed women and children. They didn''t sacrifice for freedom. They did it for the money, and they are trying to stay there for the money. Bring them home, they''ll have to find another way to make a living.
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by trrrorislam1 August 24, 2008 10:36 AM EDT
YOU DO NOT LIKE THE USA IN THE MIDDLE EAST,,,

BLAME THE DEMONIC-RATS,,,

THE DEMONIC-RAT DOCTRINE,,,

On February 16, 1943, President Franklin D. Roosevelt said the "the defense of Saudi Arabia is vital to the defense of the United States." On February 14, 1945, while returning from the Yalta Conference, Roosevelt met with King Ibn Saud of Saudi Arabia on the Great Bitter Lake in the Suez Canal, the first time a U.S. president had visited the Persian Gulf region.

The Carter Doctrine was a policy proclaimed by President of the United States Jimmy Carter in his State of the Union Address on 23 January 1980, which stated that the United States would use military force if necessary to defend its national interests in the Persian Gulf region. The doctrine was a response to the 1979 invasion of Afghanistan by the Soviet Union, and was intended to deter the Soviet Union%u2014the Cold War adversary of the United States%u2014from seeking hegemony in the Persian Gulf. After stating that Soviet troops in Afghanistan posed "a grave threat to the free movement of Middle East oil," Carter proclaimed:

Let our position be absolutely clear: An attempt by any outside force to gain control of the Persian Gulf region will be regarded as an assault on the vital interests of the United States of America, and such an assault will be repelled by any means necessary, including military force.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carter_Doctrine
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by alohaone1 August 24, 2008 9:07 AM EDT
Bush is close to DISASTER in Iraq, and I dont mean the one he is getting the media to report. It seems unlikely that he will secure the deals on the oil access he wanted. What he has secured will quite easily be overturned by a REAL incoming Iraqi government (probably with Al Sadr at the helm). So .....the truth is he didnt get anything and his neocon pals didnt get anything either. I hope you find a backbone to get him in court ... there really haven''''t been many americans in history who have committed atrocities on that --------------------------

Posted by tapsettle at 07:53 PM : Aug 23, 2008

I agree with you that Bush may not get the oil deal he wants , not for the oil company , but for America , with oil over $4 now (and by the way , the Evil Oil companies have kept our prices about 1/2 that of most other places on earth , so go figure). I blame stupid Obama and the selfish Dems for this mishap , they are the ones who ,as things are finally getting better in Iraq after the Surge , call for withdraw time-table that emboldens the Iraqis and ties our hands. They may disagree with the initial reasons to go in , but must they spoil things after all the sacrifices by our troops and generals? This is America101, backstabbing troops and selfish politics. I am just glad that our troops did not get sold out as bad as Vietnam , so yeah , our troops died for free , Iraq stabilized , Iraqis got their freedom ,Americans got jack, thanks to their Dems countrymen.
Reply to this comment
by alohaone1 August 24, 2008 9:07 AM EDT
Bush is close to DISASTER in Iraq, and I dont mean the one he is getting the media to report. It seems unlikely that he will secure the deals on the oil access he wanted. What he has secured will quite easily be overturned by a REAL incoming Iraqi government (probably with Al Sadr at the helm). So .....the truth is he didnt get anything and his neocon pals didnt get anything either. I hope you find a backbone to get him in court ... there really haven''''t been many americans in history who have committed atrocities on that --------------------------

Posted by tapsettle at 07:53 PM : Aug 23, 2008

I agree with you that Bush may not get the oil deal he wants , not for the oil company , but for America , with oil over $4 now (and by the way , the Evil Oil companies have kept our prices about 1/2 that of most other places on earth , so go figure). I blame stupid Obama and the selfish Dems for this mishap , they are the ones who ,as things are finally getting better in Iraq after the Surge , call for withdraw time-table that emboldens the Iraqis and ties our hands. They may disagree with the initial reasons to go in , but must they spoil things after all the sacrifices by our troops and generals? This is America101, backstabbing troops and selfish politics. I am just glad that our troops did not get sold out as bad as Vietnam , so yeah , our troops died for free , Iraq stabilized , Iraqis got their freedom ,Americans got jack, thanks to their Dems countrymen.
Reply to this comment
by trrrorislam1 August 24, 2008 3:43 AM EDT
HUSSEINs VICE PRESIDENT,,,

hmmmm will it be a TYPICAL WHITE PERSON???
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r8gnmUyminI

hmmmm will it be one that is clinging to his gun and religion???
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xNoJ0q6HrK8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nmv5NZ4zcdc&feature=related

hmmmm will it be one that wants americans to learn spanish???
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BZprtPat1Vk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3W7srmHLclw

hmmmm will it be a RACIST like himSelf, hating whitey and jews???
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mfC4OOm1aoM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lI77cU3jsFs&feature=related

RACIST HUSSEIN PICKS,,, RACIST BIDEN AS VP,,, shocker,,,

Obama''''s Racist Vice President Biden
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wlxXNyIuyTM

BIDEN SAYS NOW,,, HE IS HAPPY TO BE VICE PRESIDENT TO HUSSEIN,,,

"I mean, you''ve got the first mainstream African-American who is articulate and bright and clean and a nice looking guy."
: SENATOR JOE BIDEN
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lxWSVXZVR4c

BIDEN SAYS HUSSEIN NOT READY,,,

BIDEN SAYS HE IS READY TO RUN WITH OR AGAINST MCCAIN,,,

BIDEN SAYS COUNTRY BETTER OFF WITH MCCAIN,,, THAN HUSSEIN,,,

Joe Biden On Barack Obama
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RDVUPqoowf8
Reply to this comment
by trrrorislam1 August 24, 2008 3:11 AM EDT
NAIVE HUSSEIN SEES AMERICA AS EVIL,,,

and you want to make him PRESIDENT OF THE USA???

Saddleback Church Civil Forum - Obama & McCain 8 of 17
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uqsH13unGbM&feature=related

Abortion, evil, Obama and McCain
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U0eVomjmCGI
Reply to this comment
by underdogus87 August 23, 2008 11:11 PM EDT
terrorislamz.. came back as a trojan virus ajx.255-6-45101-RX-12-75-malware
Reply to this comment
by tapsettle August 23, 2008 10:53 PM EDT
Bush is close to DISASTER in Iraq, and I dont mean the one he is getting the media to report. It seems unlikely that he will secure the deals on the oil access he wanted. What he has secured will quite easily be overturned by a REAL incoming Iraqi government (probably with Al Sadr at the helm). So with 100 thousand americans dead, maimed or traumatised, and at least 5 times that for Iraqis, and a US with a reputation down the toilet, the truth is he didnt get anything and his neocon pals didnt get anything either. I hope you find a backbone to get him in court ... there really haven''t been many americans in history who have committed atrocities on that scale.
Reply to this comment
by tapsettle August 23, 2008 10:44 PM EDT
Let them kill each other, save American lives.
Ignorance is everywhere, but if it where regional, the Middle East is the heart.
Posted by dkhorse1

Ignorance IS everywhere - thanks for demonstarting that with your ignorant post. Your handle should be ''dkhead1''.
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