IRAQ: Iraqi president Mr Ghazi al-Yawer said yesterday it would be "complete nonsense" to ask US-led forces to leave Iraq with his country in its current state of chaos. But he added that by the end of the year some of the 170,000 soldiers could be on their way out of the country.
"It's complete nonsense to ask the troops to leave in this chaos and this vacuum of power," said Mr Yawer. He said foreign troops should leave only after Iraq's security forces are built up and the terrorist threat subdued.
"By the end of this year, we could see the number of foreign troops decreasing," Yawer said.
His comments struck a discordant note with other Iraqi leaders trying to seize on the momentum from Sunday's ballot to unify the country.
His suggestion that British and American troops could begin withdrawing within a year, the first indication by an Iraqi official to an end to the US-led involvement, is also likely to raise eyebrows in Washington.
US officials have so far resisted setting a deadline for withdrawal, fearing it will provide a boost to Iraq's insurgency. However, with the involvement proving deeply unpopular in Iraq, there is considerable pressure on Iraqi leaders to push for a pull-out timetable.
A UN resolution allows US and British forces to remain in Iraq until the political process ends with full constitutional elections in December 2005. Coalition troops can then stay on at the request of the Iraqi government.
Mr Yawer told reporters that foreign forces had caused problems in the country since the overthrow of Saddam Hussein in April 2003.
"Yes, the foreign forces are part of the problem and right now we are trying to have them as part of the solution," he said.
Previously Mr Yawer has been a strong critic of some aspects of the US military operation in Iraq, including the three-week marine siege of the Sunni rebel city of Fallujah in April.
But Mr Yawer said he believed the overthrow of Saddam Hussein still justified the invasion.
"There were some mistakes but to be fair ... I think all in all it was positive, the contribution of the foreign forces in Iraq. It was worth it."
Mr Yawer, a leading Sunni Arab, is tipped to continue when the results of Sunday's ballot are announced and a new government formed. Yesterday, Iraq's independent electoral commission said a final result would be announced within days, with coalition of Shia parties likely to dominate.
Iraqi politicians have urged the country to unify against the insurgency after a strong turnout, although voter figures were low in Sunni Arab tribal areas where the insurgency is strongest.
The US military said last night that no American soldiers have been reported missing in Iraq, after Iraqi militants claimed in a web statement to have taken an American soldier hostage and threatened to behead him.
The posting included a photo of what that statement said was an American soldier, wearing desert fatigues and seated on a concrete floor with his hands tied behind his back.
But the figure in the photo appeared stiff and expressionless, and the photo's authenticity could not be confirmed. - (AP)