Bush And Maliki Agree To Troop Withdrawal Goal

Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has achieved what congressional Democrats have been unable to do since taking over Congress: persuade President Bush to shift his position on Iraq.

The White House put out a statement today saying that the security agreements between the U.S. and Iraq "should...include a general time horizon for meeting aspirational goals -- such as the resumption of Iraqi security control in their cities and provinces and the further reduction of U.S. combat forces from Iraq."

"Aspirational goals" is a far cry from a set timetable, but it represents a step in that direction -- one the president has resisted in the past other than broad statements about the U.S. having no plans for permanent bases or an indefinite occupation.

The move from the White House comes after Maliki said that he wanted any longterm security agreement with the United States to come along with a timeline for troop withdrawals. President Bush, in a 2007 press conference, said that if the Iraqi government asked the U.S. to leave, he would abide by the request.

"We are there at the invitation of the Iraqi government. This is a sovereign nation. Twelve million people went to the polls to approve a constitution. It's their government's choice. If they were to say, leave, we would leave," he said.

The full statement after the jump...
Continue reading post...