BAGHDAD — Iraqi officials said Thursday that they were close to finalizing a new security arrangement that would set out the goal of withdrawing all U.S. combat troops from the country, while stopping short of establishing a strict timetable for their departure.
The pact would outline a conditional time frame for Iraqi troops to take charge of the country and U.S. combat troops to be withdrawn, according to Iraqi officials familiar with the talks.
The Iraqis said the new arrangement would allow Prime Minister Nouri Maliki to claim that he has enshrined the principle of an American withdrawal, a key demand for a government eager to show independence from Washington while keeping the flexibility to extend the U.S. military presence if security deteriorates.
As long as the country remains stable, Maliki has said, he sees no need for U.S. combat forces to remain past 2010, roughly matching the timeline for a phased withdrawal proposed by Sen. Barack Obama. The Bush administration and Sen. John McCain have opposed committing to rigid deadlines, though the White House recently acknowledged a willingness to adhere to a "general time horizon" for Iraqi forces to take full control of security and for the number of U.S. troops to be reduced.
In brief comments Thursday at the White House, President Bush said "sustained progress" in Iraq will allow the military to cut the length of combat tours and possibly make further reductions in troop levels in the fall.
"The progress in Iraq has allowed us to continue our policy of 'return on success,' " Bush said.
He repeated what the Pentagon had already announced: Troops deploying to Iraq beginning today will serve 12-month tours, rather than the 15 months they were expecting.
Maliki's national security advisor, Mowaffak Rubaie, said talks on the security accord were based on the premise of U.S. forces leaving Iraq, but "this time horizon is a planning tool, not a definitive schedule."
A new deal is required because the current United Nations mandate authorizing the U.S.-led multinational force to operate in Iraq expires at the end of the year.
At a Pentagon news conference, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said the draft agreement would still allow U.S. forces to perform their mission, adding that the troop drawdown would proceed according to conditions on the ground rather than a timetable.
