WASHINGTON: US Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Wednesday that US forces will leave Iraq as scheduled in late 2011 unless asked to stay but warned Baghdad would face sizeable “problems” after the withdrawal.

“There is certainly, on our part, an interest in having an additional presence” above levels set by a 2008 accord, Gates told the US House of Representatives' Armed Services Committee.

“The truth of the matter is, the Iraqis are going to have some problems that they're going to have to deal with if we are not there in some numbers,”he said, warning “they won't be able to protect their own airspace,” will faceintelligence challenges, and “have problems with logistics and maintenance.”

”But it's their country. It's a sovereign country,” he said. “And we will abide by the agreement, unless the Iraqis ask us to have additional people there.”

The US ambassador to Baghdad, James Jeffrey, and top military commander in Iraq, General Lloyd Austin, told US lawmakers at a February 4 hearing that they were confident that Iraq would be stable after the US withdrawal.

Austin and Jeffrey also said they had no indication the Iraqis want the US military to remain beyond the target withdrawal date.