Iraqi officials are increasing pressure on the United States to agree
to a specific timetable for the withdrawal of U.S.-led forces from Iraq.
Iraqi
national security adviser Mouwaffak al-Rubaie said Tuesday that Baghdad
will reject any security deal with Washington that does not include
such a timeline. Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki publicly proposed
a troop pullout timetable for the first time on Monday.
U.S.
Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Tuesday that Washington will
continue reducing its troop presence in Iraq as Iraqi security forces
get stronger. But, he says the pace of U.S. withdrawals will depend on
Iraq's security situation.
U.S. military chief Admiral Mike
Mullen visited Iraq's northern city of Mosul Tuesday and told the
Associated Press that security is "much better" in the former al-Qaida
stronghold.
But, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
warned that if Iraqi authorities fail to implement political reforms
and deliver services, he doubts that recent security gains in Mosul
will make much difference.
Iraqi and U.S. forces conducted a security crackdown in Mosul recently that cleared insurgents from most of the city.
In
violence Tuesday, the U.S. military says a bomb went off during a
funeral procession in the eastern province of Diyala, killing four
civilians and wounding 13 other people.
Elsewhere, a roadside
bomb killed an American soldier west of Baghdad. In another attack, a
mortar struck a joint Iraqi-U.S. security post in northeastern Baghdad,
slightly wounding an American soldier and an interpreter.
In
another development, Iraqi officials say Jordan's King Abdullah has
postponed a visit to Iraq that was expected to begin Wednesday. The
Jordanian king would have been the first Arab head of state to visit
Iraq since the 2003 invasion.
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