Iraq attacks not due to Obama pullout

Title

Iraq

attacks not due to Obama pullout: White House

Date: March 10, 2009

Source: AFP

News:

Iraq

attacks not due to Obama pullout: White House

WASHINGTON (AFP) — The White House dismissed suggestions that two recent bloody attacks in

Iraq

were a reaction to President Barack Obama's decision to pull out most combat troops by August next year.

White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said security challenges remained in Iraq, but said US agreements with the Baghdad government would not have been made if they were likely to plunge

Iraq

back into "danger."

Gibbs was asked whether the two incidents, the latest of which was a suicide bombing on Tuesday that killed 33 people, were an encouragement to those plotting attacks or emboldened those bent on violence.

"No," said Gibbs, adding that he was not aware of any specific intelligence about such a scenario.

"But I know that the president and the team remain committed to ensuring that

Iraq

is a stable and secure country going forward and that we'll continue to continually evaluate that."

Gibbs also noted the Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) signed by the previous Bush administration with Iraq, which mandated the complete withdrawal of all American troops by the end of 2011. Obama has said he plans to honor that timetable.

"I don't think that that would be done if it presented a scenario in which the country would fall into further danger," Gibbs said.

Among the victims of Tuesday's suicide bombing were tribal chiefs, soldiers and two journalists. It was the second major attack around Baghdad in two days, officials said.

On Sunday, a suicide bomber on a bicycle killed 28 people and wounded 56 outside a Baghdad police academy.

In a speech last month, Obama ordered an end to US combat in

Iraq

by August 31, 2010.

However, Obama said up to 50,000 US troops would remain under a new mission until the end of 2011, nearly nine years after his predecessor George W. Bush ordered an invasion to topple Saddam Hussein.

Defense Secretary Robert Gates meanwhile said he shared the same view as Obama on a planned withdrawal of US troops from Iraq.

"We certainly are on the same page," he told National Public Radio in an interview Tuesday.

The defense secretary said comments he had made about the possibility of a smaller force remaining beyond 2011 were merely "speculation" on his part.

"What I was alluding to is that I think it?s at least possible that the Iraqis in 2011 will come and say, we need some logistical support. We need some intelligence support," Gates said.

"I don?t know whether that will happen. That?s pure speculation on my part."

But he said at the moment Washington was operating under the SOFA, which requires all US forces to leave the country by the end of 2011.

"And unless something changes, that is exactly what will happen."