WASHINGTON, June 14: The White House has ruled out the possibility of setting a deadline for withdrawing troops from Iraq, saying that it would send a wrong message to Iraqi insurgents. On Tuesday, lawmakers from both Republican and Democratic parties urged the Bush administration to set a deadline for pulling out US troops from Iraq.
“The president has talked about how timetables send the wrong message,” said White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan when asked if President Bush was ready to give a timetable for withdrawing troops. “A free Iraq is an important part of winning the war on terrorism and transforming a dangerous region of the world. The President believes it is vital that we complete our mission.”
Mr McClellan said it was also vital to train Iraqi security forces to achieve this objective and only then US “troops can return home with the honor they have deserved.”
Mr McClellan said US troops in Iraq “understand the importance of the mission and they understand the importance of completing that mission.”
OPTIONS ON GUANTANAMO: The White House is not ruling out the option of closing the prison for suspected terrorists and Taliban fighters at the US military base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
“We’re always looking at our options. And we’re not ever going to limit our options,” spokesman Scott McClellan told a briefing in Washington.
“The president addressed the question last week and said we’re always looking at all our alternatives,” he said.
