Gov’t, Parl. welcome early troop withdrawal

BAGHDAD / IraqiNews.com: The Iraqi government and Parliament welcome an early withdrawal of U.S. combat troops from Iraq, a member of the parliamentary security and defense committee said on Saturday. “Iraqi forces will be able to fill the security vacuum after the withdrawal of U.S. forces from the country,” MP Hassan al-Saneed told IraqiNews.com news agency. On Friday (Feb. 27), U.S. President Barack Obama said in a speech at a Marine Corps base in North Carolina that the combat mission in Iraq will end by August 2010. Up to 50,000 troops will stay in Iraqi into 2011, Obama noted. Foreign forces that will stay after the withdrawal will train Iraqi security personnel, Saneed noted. SS (P) 1