U.S. and Iraq to Plan Military Transfer
As Iraqi leaders on Monday reaffirmed their decision to finish writing the country’s constitution by the middle of the month, the American ambassador here publicly outlined the process for a gradual American troop withdrawal. Speaking in his first news conference here, the new ambassador, Zalmay Khalilzad, said the American military would hand over control of specific areas to Iraqi forces and “withdraw its own units from these areas.” He declined to say which Iraqi cities American soldiers would leave first but said he had formed a committee with Iraqi leaders to draw up a detailed withdrawal plan. Full Story