Calling for the troops to go; Foreign forces in Iraq; In a rare moment of unity, the country's factions join the chorus calling for the troops to go.

Publication: Global Agenda

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COPYRIGHT 2005 Economist Newspaper Ltd.

A broad group of Iraqis, meeting in Cairo, has recognised a right to "national resistance" and demanded a timetable for foreign forces' withdrawal from their country. The declaration comes as Americans are debating the war in Iraq more fiercely than ever. But the Bush administration continues to insist that its troops will not be hurried out

GEORGE BUSH has always said he will pull American troops out of Iraq as soon as he can, and no sooner. He has steadfastly rejected the idea of a timetable for withdrawal, which, he argues, would amount to a retreat before the job is done. But on Monday November 21st a broad range of Iraqi factional leaders, meeting in Cairo, called for just that. Though they did not suggest a specific date by which the troops should go, the agreement will focus minds, in both Baghdad and Washington, on the endgame for foreign forces in Iraq.

The Cairo conference, aimed at reconciliation between Iraq's different ethnic and sectarian groups, took place under...

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