Aug 7, 8:45 PM (ET)

By QASSIM ABDUL-ZAHRA and ANNE GEARAN

(AP) Children watch as a U.S. army soldier patrols a
street in northwest Baghdad's Shula neighborhood,...
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BAGHDAD (AP) - Iraq and the U.S. are near an agreement on all American
combat troops leaving Iraq by October 2010, with the last soldiers out three
years after that, two Iraqi officials told The Associated Press on Thursday.
U.S. officials, however, insisted no dates had been agreed.

The proposed agreement calls for Americans to hand over parts of Baghdad's
Green Zone - where the U.S. Embassy is located - to the Iraqis by the end of
2008. It would also remove U.S. forces from Iraqi cities by June 30, 2009,
according to the two senior officials, both close to Iraqi Prime Minister
Nouri al-Maliki and familiar with the negotiations.

The officials, who spoke separately on condition of anonymity because the
talks are ongoing, said all U.S. combat troops would leave Iraq by October
2010, with the remaining support personnel gone "around 2013." The schedule
could be amended if both sides agree - a face-saving escape clause that
would extend the presence of U.S. forces if security conditions warrant it.

U.S. acceptance - even tentatively - of a specific timeline would represent
a dramatic reversal of American policy in place since the war began in March
2003.


(AP) U.S. army soldiers attached to Palehorse Troop, 2nd
Squadron, 2nd Stryker Cavalry Regiment, take a...
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Both Iraqi and American officials agreed that the deal is not final and that
a major unresolved issue is the U.S. demand for immunity for U.S. soldiers
from prosecution under Iraqi law.

Throughout the conflict, President Bush steadfastly refused to accept any
timetable for bringing U.S. troops home. Last month, however, Bush and
al-Maliki agreed to set a "general time horizon" for ending the U.S.
mission.

Bush's shift to a timeline was seen as a move to speed agreement on a
security pact governing the U.S. military presence in Iraq after the U.N.
mandate expires at the end of the year.

Iraq's Shiite-led government has been holding firm for some sort of
withdrawal schedule - a move the Iraqis said was essential to win
parliamentary approval.

The U.S. Embassy in Baghdad declined to comment on details of the talks.
Embassy spokeswoman Mirembe Nangtongo said the negotiations were taking
place "in a constructive spirit" based on respect for Iraqi sovereignty.


(AP) A U.S. army soldier attached to Palehorse Troop, 2nd
Squadron, 2nd Stryker Cavalry Regiment,...
Full Image


In Washington, U.S. officials acknowledged that some progress has been made
on the timelines for troop withdrawals but that the immunity issue remained
a huge problem. One senior U.S. official close to the discussion said no
dates have been agreed upon.

They spoke on condition of anonymity because the negotiations have not been
finished.

But the Iraqis insisted the dates had been settled preliminarily between the
two sides, although they acknowledged that nothing is final until the entire
negotiations have been completed....



SNIPPED

Throughout the conflict, President Bush steadfastly refused to accept any
timetable for bringing U.S. troops home. Last month, however, Bush and
al-Maliki agreed to set a "general time horizon" for ending the U.S.
mission.

Bush's shift to a timeline was seen as a move to speed agreement on a
security pact governing the U.S. military presence in Iraq after the U.N.
mandate expires at the end of the year.

On Fri, 8 Aug 2008 23:22:58 -0400, "tak" <takirch@frontiernet.net>
wrote:

>
>Throughout the conflict, President Bush steadfastly refused to accept any
>timetable for bringing U.S. troops home. Last month, however, Bush and
>al-Maliki agreed to set a "general time horizon" for ending the U.S.
>mission.
>
>Bush's shift to a timeline was seen as a move to speed agreement on a
>security pact governing the U.S. military presence in Iraq after the U.N.
>mandate expires at the end of the year.
>

Let's see.....

Dims flip flop and it is ok.

GWB makes a logical change and it
is horrible?

ROFLMAO

pssssssssssssssst

We have won the Iraq war. We don't have to surrender...

--

Scott in Florida