US charts troop pullout from Iraq
US has begun to chart troop pullout from Iraq, says top offical
Abu Dhabi: The US will pull out its troops from Iraq in a time frame of 18 months to four years depending on who gets elected as the next US president, a former top official in the Clinton Administration said here on Friday.
"Senator Obama has set a 18-month timeframe for the US troops to pull out of Iraq from the time he becomes president, should the Iraq situation stabilise, while Senator McCain has talked about a four-year timeframe in which US troops could be recalled," William S. Cohen told reporters on the sidelines of a meeting organised by the American Business Group of Abu Dhabi.
Volatility
He pointed out that the situation is volatile and therefore positions are constantly changing to the extent that the Iraqis themselves are now asking for a time schedule for the withdrawal of US troops.
He said the US military presence in Iraq is costing American taxpayers $10-12 billion (Dh36.7-Dh44 billion) a month and this can't be sustained for very long, considering the current negative financial situation.
Cohen said the US financial system has come under severe strain following the turmoil on the stock markets and the subprime mortgage crisis.
However, he added: "No matter what happens, the US will continue to have a significant presence in the Middle East to ensure the stability of the region," said Cohen.
He pointed out that the US military presence in the region has always been a high profile one and will continue to be so particularly with the bases and facilities including CENTCOM (US Military central Command) in Qatar, the US Fifth Fleet stationed in Bahrain and other important military facilities in other countries in the region.
Cohen, who served as the US Secretary of Defence from January 1997 through January 2001, said he thinks the race to the US presidency will be close. "In the exit polls, Barak Obama has widened his lead over McCain as of now, but in my judgement, he will have to establish at least an eight to ten-point lead over McCain going into the election, to be able to sail through comfortably," said Cohen.
The US presidential polls are slated for November 4. The new president will take over from George W. Bush on January 20, 2009.
Cohen presented himself as chairman and chief executive officer of "The Cohen Group" global business consulting services and advice "on tactical and strategic opportunities in virtually every market", according to their documents.
