Iraqi government wants US withdrawal timetable

President Bush has made it clear that he’d dead set against setting time tables for withdrawing out of Iraq. Bush has also always viewed Prime Minister Maliki as someone the US can work with, and that’s why his request for a timetable for withdrawal came as somewhat of a surprise. Then yesterday Iraq’s National Security Advisor did the same, and said he would reject any new military agreement with the US that didn’t have a timetable. In Iraq, elections are scheduled for the fall and the terms of the new security agreement have become a contentious issue. Most Iraqis tell pollsters they want the US out in the near future, and this analyst says the Prime Minister is shifting positions on this issue because it will help his reelection chances. in the US, the issue of setting a timetable has also become a defining point of disagreement between the two presidential candidates. However the two campaigns choose to spin the issue, this analyst says the Iraqi government appears to be firm in its demand for a timetable for withdrawal.