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WASHINGTON: President Barack Obama said after meeting with Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki that the US is on schedule in withdrawing military forces from Iraq, a transition that is “critically important” to US security.
Obama said that while there will be “tough days” ahead, the US is ready to pivot from a military relationship with Iraq to a civilian one that will lead to greater foreign investment and stability there.
“Violence continues to be down and Iraqis are taking responsibility for their future,” Obama said at a joint news conference with Maliki at the White House. “We have been very encouraged by the progress” in Iraq.
Maliki said he wants to build a “strategic relationship on the economic front” with the U.S., and in other areas. He said Iraq plans to convene an investment conference in October for companies that want to do business there.
Obama and Maliki are meeting for the first time since U.S. troops on June 30 officially turned over security to Iraqi forces in the country’s cities and towns.
About 130,000 U.S. troops remain in Iraq conducting limited, low-profile operations. All U.S. forces are scheduled to leave the country by Dec. 31, 2011.
Obama said that weekly reports from Army General Ray Odierno, the top U.S. military commander in Iraq, have been “extremely positive.”
“The violence levels have remained low,” Obama said. “The cooperation between U.S. forces and Iraqi forces has remained high.”
The U.S. is pressing the Iraqi government to settle nagging political issues to bolster the nation’s stability. Iraq, holder of the world’s third-largest oil reserves, has yet to draft legislation on the sharing of revenue from its oil industry.
Iraqi Foreign Minister, Hoshyar Zebari, said July 20 the country needs help from outside interests, including the U.S. and the United Nations, to reach agreement on the legislation.
The Iraqi government, which depends on oil revenue for most of its budget, aims to boost oil output to 4 million barrels a day within the next five years, from about 2.4 million barrels.