Iraq and the US have reached preliminary agreement to withdraw American forces from Iraqi cities by next June, Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari said Thursday after meeting with US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. The draft agreement with Iraq would link troop reductions to achievement of certain security milestones, although the details have not been made public. Time has become ever more important in discussions between US and Iraqi officials with the Bush administration heading into its final months and American presidential candidates tussling daily over how and when they would move to end the war. Rice and Zebari, appearing together at a news conference, asserted that the proposed deal reflects growing confidence in the ability of Iraqi forces to secure the country. A final agreement would require endorsement of the proposed deal by top Iraqi leaders and the Iraqi parliament. Zebari said the draft would be presented to top Iraqi leaders, including Prime Minister Nuri Al-Maliki. Some members of Al-Maliki's Cabinet are known to oppose some aspects of it. “We have agreed that some goals, some aspirational timetables for how that might unfold, are well worth having in such an agreement,” Rice told reporters after meeting with Iraqi officials, including the prime minister. The two sides had come together on a draft agreement earlier this week and Rice made an unannounced visit to Baghdad to press officials there to endorse it. Zebari, asked about fears expressed by neighboring countries over such a pact, said in Arabic: “This decision (agreement) is a sovereign one and Iran and other neighboring countries have the right to ask for clarifications. ... There are clear articles (that) say that Iraq will not be used as a launching pad for any aggressive acts against neighboring countries and we already did clarify this.” A key part of the US-Iraqi draft agreement envisions the withdrawal of American forces from Iraq's cities by next June 30, according to Iraqi and American officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because the proposed deal's details have not been publicly announced. A related issue is setting additional timelines for troop withdrawals, including a date by which all US forces would be gone. Zebari said that “this agreement determines the principle provisions, requirements, to regulate the temporary presence and the time horizon, the mission of the US forces.”
