Negotiations on the future U.S. military presence in Iraq stalled this week when Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki insisted on a firm deadline for an American pullout. Last week, Iraq and the U.S. appeared to have reached a deal that would remove U.S. troops from Iraqi cities by mid-2009 and set an “aspirational” goal of late 2011 for the withdrawal of remaining U.S. forces. But al-Maliki this week demanded that foreign forces leave by “a specific date” in 2011. The White House has insisted that the timing of any troop pullouts be determined by “conditions on the ground,” not the calendar.
In a sign of continuing sectarian tensions, al-Maliki announced that 70,000 Sunni security volunteers must soon surrender their weapons. After making an alliance with U.S. troops, the volunteers of the Sunni “Awakening’’ movement have been instrumental in routing al Qaida in Iraq. But in recent weeks, Iraqi police have arrested several Awakening leaders, and seized the weapons of scores of the volunteers. “We adhere to a policy that there are no arms but the arms of the government,” al-Maliki said.
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