Biden: U.S. will stick to Iraq pullout timetable

BAGHDAD / IraqiNews.com: The U.S. will stick to its timetable for pulling troops out of Iraq despite recent violence, Vice President Joe Biden said Tuesday as President Barack Obama visited Baghdad. “I’m not worried about that at all,” Biden told CNN referring to upsurge in attacks blamed on al-Qaeda. “We will draw down along the timeline we suggested.” Obama – who was on a surprise trip to Iraq Tuesday (April 7) after a tour of Europe and Turkey – plans to withdraw most combat troops from Iraq by August 2010, although a force of up to 50,000 will remain through 2011. Biden said the president went to Baghdad to pay tribute to U.S. troops and to urge political reconciliation in talks with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki. “One of the things the president has said from the beginning is in addition to us drawing down troops, it was necessary for there to be further political accommodation between the Sunnis, Shiites, and the Kurds,” he said. SH (P) 1