Majority of Iraq Lawmakers Seek Timetable for U.S. Exit

12 May NY Times - Majority of Iraq Lawmakers Seek Timetable for U.S. Exit by Kirk Semple.

Quote:

---

A majority of Iraq’s Parliament members have signed a petition for a timetable governing a withdrawal of American troops, several legislators said Friday.

The withdrawal would depend on the growth and maturity of the Iraqi security forces, to ensure that the departure would not create a security vacuum and accelerate the sectarian conflict, the petition’s sponsors said.

“The troop withdrawal would move in parallel with the buildup of Iraqi troops, but their stay should not be for a long time,” said Saleh al-Igili, a member of the parliamentary bloc allied with the anti-American Shiite cleric Moktada al-Sadr, which sponsored the petition.

Officials with Mr. Sadr’s bloc said 144 of Parliament’s 275 members — including Sunnis, Shiites and at least one Kurd — had signed. The document is being developed into a draft bill by Parliament’s legal and foreign relations committees...

---