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Sadrists want a timetable for U.S. withdrawal.

munaeem | 11 April, 2007 06:46

via Yahoo News : Sadrists threaten to leave gov't

"Iraqi Cabinet ministers allied to radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr threatened Wednesday to quit the government to protest the prime minister's lack of support for a timetable for U.S. withdrawal.

The threat comes two months into a U.S. effort to pacify Baghdad in order to give al-Maliki's government room to function.

Al-Sadr's political committee issued a statement a day after al-Maliki rejected an immediate U.S. troop withdrawal.

"We see no need for a withdrawal timetable. We are working as fast as we can," al-Maliki told reporters during his four-day trip to Japan, where he signed loan agreements for redevelopment projects in Iraq.

"To demand the departure of the troops is a democratic right and a right we respect. What governs the departure at the end of the day is how confident we are in the handover process," he said, adding that "achievements on the ground" would dictate how long American troops remain.

Tens of thousands of Iraqis took to the streets of two Shiite holy cities, on al-Sadr's orders, to protest the U.S. presence in their country. The rally marked the fourth anniversary of Baghdad's conquer by American forces.

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