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Coalition forces won't budge
25/05/2004 20:21 - (SA)
Baghdad - Coalition forces will remain in Iraq indefinitely until the job of building a secure and peaceful democracy is achieved, said senior spokespeople on Tuesday.
Coalition spokesperson Dan Senor said: "Coalition forces will be on the ground here until we achieve our goal which is to hand over to the people of Iraq a sovereign and democratic Iraq which is stable... and at peace with the world.
"We recognise there is still a significant terror threat in Iraq and we also recognise that Iraqi security forces are not in a position to defend against that terror threat on their own right now, so it may take some time to achieve the totality of the goal."
Senor was responding to questions about a United States-British draft resolution on Iraq which was tabled before the United Nations security council on Monday. The document gave no date for a withdrawal of US-led forces from Iraq.
Senor said US President George W Bush, who made a major speech on the military and political situation in Iraq late on Monday, was clear that "we will stay until the job is done, but we will not stay a day longer."
US Brigadier-General Mark Kimmitt, the top coalition military spokesperson in Iraq, said it would take an indefinite time to train Iraqi security forces to the point at which they could handle threats on their own.
"I think the president's comments were reflective of the fact that, as well as building the Iraqi security forces, we want to take the time to do it right" he said.
"But, I'm not sure you've got a time on the calendar when you can say it's ready.
"We are committed to staying here long enough to complete the task. We want the Iraqi security forces to have the sufficiency to stand on their own two feet."
- AFP
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