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Vendaval -> "Iraq plans for possible quick U.S. pullout" (5/22/2007 2:11:11 AM)
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"Iraq plans for possible quick U.S. pullout"
Posted: 1:13 a.m. EDT, May 22, 2007
" BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) -- Iraq's military is drawing up plans to cope with any quick U.S. military pullout, the defense minister said, as a senior American official warned that the Bush administration may reconsider its support if Iraqi leaders do not make major reforms by fall.
The U.S. official did not say what actions could be taken by the White House, but his comments on Monday reflected the Bush administration's need to show results in Iraq -- as an answer to pressure by the Democrats in Congress seeking to set timetables on the U.S. military presence.
Several mortar shells hit the U.S.-controlled Green Zone on Monday, one striking the Iraqi parliament building but causing no casualties -- the latest in near daily barrages on the nerve center of the U.S. mission and Iraqi government that underline the country's tenuous security.
With violence raging, pressure is mounting on Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's government to demonstrate progress on key reforms or risk losing American support for the unpopular war.
On Monday, Defense Minister Abdul-Qader al-Obeidi told reporters Iraq's military was drawing up plans in case U.S.-led forces left the country quickly.
"The army plans on the basis of a worst-case scenario so as not to allow any security vacuum," al-Obeidi said. "There are meetings with political leaders on how we can deal with a sudden pullout."
It was unclear whether al-Obeidi's comment referred to routine contingency planning or reflected a feeling among Iraqi leaders that the days of U.S. support may be numbered even though U.S. President George W. Bush blocked an effort by Congress to set a withdrawal timetable. "
http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/meast/05/22/iraq.pulloutplans.ap/index.html
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