This story, from Agence France Presse, was posted to the Democratic Underground, February 16, 2008
DUBAI (AFP) - Iraq's defence minister said on Saturday that his country needs US troops to protect its borders and also for "strategic deterrence."
"We need US troops... for the defence of the borders... I don't have anything I can use for strategic deterrence. I do not have intercepting aircraft," Abdel Qader Jassim Mohammed told AFP on the sidelines of a conference in the United Arab Emirates.
"My need for them (US troops) is pressing in this regard," Mohammed said.
But the Iraqi official, who was in Dubai to attend a conference on Iraqi defence and security, said that Iraqi troops always replace US forces when the security situation improves and the latter withdraw from a certain area.
"Whenever the security situation seriously improves we replace them. We have a plan for this year but I cannot disclose the timetable," he said.
"Anyway, the Americans themselves are not willing to abandon Iraq unless they are confident that we are capable. This is an agreement," Mohammed added.
Comments