http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20061102/ts_nm/iraq_france_talabani_dc_4

Quote :

" Iraqi President Jalal Talabani said on Thursday U.S. troops should remain in Iraq for up to three more years to give Iraqi authorities more time to build up their own security forces. At the start of a week-long visit to France, Talabani rejected suggestions Iraq had descended into civil war and accused the media of focusing exclusively on negative stories. However, he said "international terrorists" were still concentrating all their efforts in Iraq which meant the country needed outside help to defeat them. "We need time. Not 20 years, but time. I personally can say that two to three years will be enough to build up our forces and say to our American friends 'Bye bye with thanks'," Talabani told a conference organized by the IFRI think-tank. General George Casey, who commands the 140,000 U.S. troops still in Iraq, forecast last week that Iraqis would be able to handle most tasks within 12 to 18 months. Public pressure is building in both the United States and Britain to bring back troops from Iraq. U.S. President George W. Bush's Republicans face possible loss of control of Congress in November 7 elections, with dismay over his Iraq policy a critical factor in voter intentions. However, Talabani gave an upbeat assessment of the situation in Iraq, saying life was relatively normal beyond Baghdad. "There is no civil war. The media is focusing only on the negative side of Iraq. ... We need to give the real picture. It's not just car bombs. Visit Iraq from the north to the south. Never mind Baghdad," he told reporters. DEATHS Very few French journalists venture into Iraq nowadays after three French reporters were kidnapped between 2004-2005 and held for months before eventually being allowed home. The Iraqi Interior Ministry said more than 40 civilians died each day last month as a result of the political violence and the New York Times this week quoted the U.S. military as saying Iraq was descending into chaos. Talabani angrily shrugged off the suggestion. "The Pentagon can say what it likes," he said, cutting short the questioner. Prior to the meeting, Talabani said he would ask France for help with the rebuilding effort. "I will ask (French President Jacques Chirac) to continue his support and extend the relation both politically and for trade. I will ask him to help us train some Iraqi police forces for use against terrorism," the Iraqi leader said. Chirac told Talabani during their talks that Paris believed "it was important to fix the prospect of a withdrawal" of the international force in Iraq, the French leader's spokesman Jerome Bonnafont told reporters. Chirac opposed the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in 2003 that toppled Saddam Hussein but France has since patched up relations with Washington and promised to help the Iraqi government. Talabani, who criticized Chirac in 2003 for not joining forces with the United States, said it was time to move forward and suggested big contracts might be open for French firms. "Your oil companies can come to Iraq ... Americans didn't interfere (in our oil) and don't have any right to interfere." "

Sounds like he certainly doesn't want us "out now." I worry that people may expect a full pullout in a year and a half when we really need 3-5 years to finish the job. Good to see him calling for us to stay though, I hope that rhetoric continues. Oh and what was the talking about at the end? We invaded them and took all their oil, he must be mistaken.

11/2/2006 4:34:05 PM

3-5 years ain't nearly enough. Not even close.

And Bush and our military know it.

Otherwise, the large, permanent, expensive bases would not have been built. They know we're gonna be stuck for at least another decade.

11/2/2006 4:36:36 PM

Well, in a sense you're right. We do need to be there for another decade, but not nearly in the same troop numbers we have now. I'd say we could start withdrawing a bunch in 2-3 years and then have us down to a more nominal presence by 5.

11/2/2006 4:44:15 PM

word from the grapevine is that we're going to continue to shutdown some more bases and pull out most if not all troops in Germany and make Iraq more like a permenant duty station instead of "the deployment"

The new army battle dress uniforms are all desert-style digitized now so that should say something if nothing else.


oh and BTW, within the next year-until, there will be a massive amount of US Army woodland camouflage uniforms, jackets, personal equipment, rain coats, etc... headed to third world countries.

11/2/2006 4:55:45 PM

we've been there this long...might as well stay around as long as it takes to get some semblance of normalcy over there

11/2/2006 5:02:57 PM

We'll be there for a while. The way things are right now, if we decided to exit there would be huge casualty figures on both sides and a hell of alot of civilian deaths to go with it...

11/2/2006 5:04:56 PM

When has he not said this? I dont understand how this changes anything.

11/2/2006 5:24:10 PM

"Bye Bye with Thanks"

That would make a great Hallmark Card, wouldn't it?

11/2/2006 10:35:15 PM

What he really meant to say was, "As long as you are here, I don't really have to do jack shit to solve my country's problems."

11/3/2006 12:58:10 AM

Quote :

"Well, in a sense you're right. We do need to be there for another decade, but not nearly in the same troop numbers we have now. I'd say we could start withdrawing a bunch in 2-3 years and then have us down to a more nominal presence by 5."

I think that's a reasonable plan, especially if their president thinks 3 years or so would be enough.

I wonder though what this will do to the insurgency. Supposedly, they're fighting because we're there, and when we leave, the hope is that things would settle down at least a little bit. If this is not the case, then our leaving couldn't be good for the Iraqis.

But, if their politics are anything like ours, this Talabani can't really be trusted. He may be trying to get us out sooner rather than later, for some plan of his own.

11/3/2006 1:15:38 AM

The only people promoting leaving soon are the democrats, it looks like.

11/3/2006 1:55:34 AM

well its obvious the Iraqis dont want to put a large portion of their own time and money to clean up their shitty country so they want us to stay longer.

11/3/2006 9:05:49 AM

Quote :

"I wonder though what this will do to the insurgency. Supposedly, they're fighting because we're there, and when we leave, the hope is that things would settle down at least a little bit. If this is not the case, then our leaving couldn't be good for the Iraqis."

Some are fighting because we're there. Some are fighting because they want to instill their form of Islamicism on the populace. The latter group will not give up because we've left.

11/3/2006 9:08:33 AM