Agence France-Presse,
Washington: President George W. Bush acknowledged the United States would seek a military presence in Iraq for “years” but pledged in an interview aired Sunday that he would not establish permanent bases.
Bush brushed aside concerns expressed by critics that a Status of Forces Agreement Washington is discussing with the Baghdad goverment would commit future US presidents to a long-term deployment in Iraq.
“We won't have permanent bases,” Bush told Fox New television in the interview conducted at his retreat at Camp David, Maryland.
But he added, “I do believe it is in our interests and the interests of the Iraqi people that we do enter into an agreement on how we are going to conduct ourselves over the next years.”
While the Americans press plans to trim their forces in Iraq from the current 160,000 troops, they are negotiating a pact with Baghdad to maintain their presence beyond the end of 2008, when their UN mandate expires.
Defense Secretary Robert Gates and other US officials say they have no interest in establishing permanent bases, but congressional critics are insisting any accord be submitted to the legislature.
Bush, who also has 26,000 troops in Afghanistan and is planning to send 3,200 more, was non-committal on whether he would pass any Status of Forces Agreement with Iraq past the Senate.
“Well, you know, we work with the Senate and the House (of Representatives) on that,” he told Fox. “We didn't bring a treaty to the Senate for Afghanistan.”
