U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton today stressed that President Bush set the timetable in motion by agreeing with the Iraqis that all troops would be out by the end of this year interview with Christiane Amanpour of ABC’s This Week in Tashkent, Uzbekistan’
“President Obama promised the American people that the troops would be out by the end of this year.But we’re always open to discussing with partner countries what their needs are. And as you know, we have a lot of presence in that region. So no, we’re not going to have bases in Iraq, but we have bases elsewhere.” -Ms. Clinton
Ms. Clinton stated that the U.S. government has security relations from Jordan to Colombia. She said that they are going to be present in Iraq, supporting the Iraqis, and continually discussing with them what their needs are.
“And no one should miscalculate our commitment to Iraq, most particularly Iran.” -Ms. Clinton