Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki has pledged that Baghdad would not ask US troops to stay in the country beyond a year-end pullout, his office said on Saturday. Maliki said that the decision had been taken despite Iraq's desire for stronger military ties with Washington, and alluded to political difficulties he would have in getting approval for any extended American presence.
"We are not going to ask for an extension for US forces, in spite of our keenness to continue co-operation with the United States in all areas, including military," he told a South Korean news organisation, according to a transcript of an April 20 interview released by his office. In a nod to domestic political opposition to any US presence beyond the end of 2011, he noted: "As you know, the process... does not only require the approval of the government, but also a vote in parliament."
Radical anti-US Shia cleric Moqtada al-Sadr warned on April 9 that his supporters would resume armed opposition if American troops were to stay beyond the end of this year. The transcript of the interview was released a day after the top US military officer warned that Iraq had just "weeks" to decide if it needed American troops to stay, and cautioned that time was running out.
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