'Orderly Iraq pull-out needed'

2007-07-01 22:02

Washington - Senator Richard Lugar, the most prominent Republican yet to break ranks with the US administration over Iraq, has called for an "orderly" withdrawal of US troops in the coming months.

The top Republican on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee said on CBS news that President George W. Bush should embrace moderates from both sides in Congress to chart a new path forward.

The group would examine forming "a diplomatic forum to bring together all the neighbouring countries. They would meet continuously and talk about our interests in Iraq, but also our interests with each other," he said.

"The withdrawal of the majority of American troops in a calm, orderly way over the next few months should be discussed so that we refurbish our ability to meet problems elsewhere in the world," Lugar said.

He sent shock waves through political Washington recently by taking to the floor of the Senate to argue that Bush's "surge" of US troops had not translated into meaningful progress by Iraqi authorities.

One of the most respected voices in Congress, the 75-year-old senator said that he would not support any Democratic-sponsored cut in war funding as long as US troops were on the ground fighting insurgents in Iraq.

- AFP