Despite the bloviating by the CiC about 'time horizons,' the Iraqi government and the US appear to have come closer to an agreement on withdrawal of US troops from Iraq. First is a pullout from the cities by June 30, 2009 and a complete withdrawal by 2011. I'm guessing that the 2011 is for 'combat troops' and that US troops will remain in Iraq for training, ISF combat support, counter-terrorism operations, and defending US assets in the country.
U.S. and Iraqi negotiators have finished a draft agreement that would see American troops removed from Iraqi cities by June 30, an Iraqi official said Wednesday. But the draft has not been approved by the Cabinet and some members have expressed opposition.
The official, who was involved in the protracted negotiations, said the agreement calls for U.S. troops to fully leave the country by the end of 2011.
He said a compromise was reached on the contentious issue of immunity for American troops from prosecution under Iraqi laws, but he did not give details. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not supposed to release the information. ...
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/...
Previous remarks by the Iraqi government on their preferred timeline.
[1] Maliki said evacuation or presence in a statement about SOFA July 7.
The direction is towards either a memorandum of understanding on their evacuation, or a memorandum of understanding on programming their presence.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/...
[2] Maliki felt that the July 7 statement was unclear so his office clarified it with the use of the word withdrawal in their written version of the statement.
The direction is towards either a memorandum of understanding on their evacuation,or a memorandum of understanding on a timetable for their withdrawal
http://news.bbc.co.uk/...
[3] Just in case somebody in the US failed to get the message,
on July 8 the Iraq's national security adviser followed that with:
This country will not accept any security deal with the United States
unless it contains specific dates for the withdrawal of U.S.-led forces.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/...
[4] Maliki repeated this position in his July 19 interview with Der Spiegel.
As soon as possible, as far as we're concerned. U.S. presidential candidate Barack Obama talks about 16 months. That, we think, would be the right timeframe for a withdrawal, with the possibility of slight changes.
http://www.spiegel.de/...
[5] Maliki didn't just say or imply this once during the July 19 interview.
He expanded on it:
Those who operate on the premise of short time periods in Iraq today are being more realistic. Artificially prolonging the tenure of US troops in Iraq would cause problems. Of course, this is by no means an election endorsement. Who they choose as their president is the Americans' business. But it's the business of Iraqis to say what they want. And that's where the people and the government are in general agreement: The tenure of the coalition troops in Iraq should be limited.
http://www.spiegel.de/...
[6] After a call from CENTCOM, a government spokesman issued a statement
that Maliki's remarks should not be mistaken for an endorsement of Obama.
[Maliki's remarks] were misunderstood, mistranslated and not conveyed accurately.
...
Who they choose as their president is the Americans' business.
But it's the business of Iraqis to say what they want.
And that's where the people and the government are in general agreement:
The tenure of the coalition troops in Iraq should be limited"
http://www.cnn.com/...
[7] After meeting with Maliki, Senator Obama said on July 21/22
that Prime Minister Maliki stated his hope that
"U.S. combat forces could be out of Iraq in 2010."
http://voanews.com/...
[8] Still don't get the message? Maliki repeats it on July 22/23.
"negotiations are still ongoing" but added that there could be a
"big step forward on the principles of the withdrawal."
http://www.iht.com/...
You can read some end-of-2007 news on Iraqi efforts to gain control of their security situation in this earlier diary:
http://www.dailykos.com/...