Spokesman: U.S. Won't Change Iraq Plan

The United States has rejected a request by Sunni Arab clerics to spell out a timetable for withdrawing troops from Iraq in exchange for calling off their boycott of the Jan. 30 elections, the chief U.S. Embassy spokesman in Baghdad said Monday. U.S. officials met last week with leaders of the influential Association of Muslim Scholars in hopes of persuading Sunni Arabs to take part in the vote. The officials were told by the group's leaders that the boycott call would be abandoned only if the United States set a date for a pullout of its troops who dominate a 160,000-strong, U.N.-mandated multinational force in Iraq. But U.S. Embassy spokesman Bob Callahan said the United States would not meet the association's demand. "They're perfectly aware of what our position is and that is that we will stay in Iraq for as long as necessary but not a day longer,'' Callahan said. ``We're not prepared at this time to establish a date for our withdrawal.'' Sunni Arabs, who make up about 20 percent of Iraq's estimated 26 million people, say the country is far too dangerous for the vote, and many are refusing to participate. Failure by the Sunni Arabs to participate in the vote would undermine the election's credibility. [more]

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