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UK troops out of Iraq 'next year'
Mr Talabani said an immediate withdrawal would be a "catastrophe"
British troops could leave Iraq by the end of next year, the country's president Jalal Talabani has predicted.
But he warned an immediate withdrawal of multinational forces rather than a gradual one would be a "catastrophe" for Iraq and would lead to civil war.
He told ITV1's Jonathan Dimbleby programme Iraqis did not want foreign troops to remain indefinitely.
"Within one year....Iraqi troops will be ready to replace British forces in the south," he said.
Only last month the head of the British Army, General Sir Mike Jackson, said it would be "foolhardy" to set a date for UK troops to pull out.
He told the BBC that Iraqi forces could be up to strength in about a year but the decision to withdraw would be complicated and the timing could vary from region to region.
'Main job over'
Mr Talabani was pressed on whether his prediction of UK troops leaving "at the end of 2006" amounted to a commitment.
The Kurdish leader said he had not been in negotiations and it was merely an "estimation of the situation".
"There is not one Iraqi that wants that forever the troops remain in the country," he added.
The Iraqi leader said he understood the British people were eager for their troops to return home.
He said: "British people have full right to ask this, their sons coming back home, especially if they finished their main job, which was the ending of dictatorship."
Mr Talabani called for a gradual pull-out, with close co-ordination between coalition nations and the Iraqi authorities.
Upsurge of violence
To support his stance, he issued a stark warning of a "catastrophe" in the event of an immediate withdrawal.
He said if his country descended into civil war, it could have harmful consequences for the whole Middle East region.
Mr Talabani said: "It would lead to a kind of civil war and... we will lose what we have done for liberating Iraq from worst kind of dictatorship.
"Instead of having a democratic, stable Iraq, we will have a civil war in Iraq, we will have troubles in Iraq [and they] will affect all the Middle East."
He acknowledged that an upsurge of violence could be expected in the run-up to National Assembly elections scheduled for 15 December.
However, he rejected suggestions insurgents would have an impact on the result.
He also denied there was a link between Britain's involvement in the Iraq war and the 7 July terror attacks in London.
The interview is due to be broadcast on Jonathan Dimbleby on ITV1 on Sunday at 1240 GMT.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/4432480.stm
Mr Talabani said an immediate withdrawal would be a "catastrophe"
British troops could leave Iraq by the end of next year, the country's president Jalal Talabani has predicted.
But he warned an immediate withdrawal of multinational forces rather than a gradual one would be a "catastrophe" for Iraq and would lead to civil war.
He told ITV1's Jonathan Dimbleby programme Iraqis did not want foreign troops to remain indefinitely.
"Within one year....Iraqi troops will be ready to replace British forces in the south," he said.
Only last month the head of the British Army, General Sir Mike Jackson, said it would be "foolhardy" to set a date for UK troops to pull out.
He told the BBC that Iraqi forces could be up to strength in about a year but the decision to withdraw would be complicated and the timing could vary from region to region.
'Main job over'
Mr Talabani was pressed on whether his prediction of UK troops leaving "at the end of 2006" amounted to a commitment.
The Kurdish leader said he had not been in negotiations and it was merely an "estimation of the situation".
"There is not one Iraqi that wants that forever the troops remain in the country," he added.
The Iraqi leader said he understood the British people were eager for their troops to return home.
He said: "British people have full right to ask this, their sons coming back home, especially if they finished their main job, which was the ending of dictatorship."
Mr Talabani called for a gradual pull-out, with close co-ordination between coalition nations and the Iraqi authorities.
Upsurge of violence
To support his stance, he issued a stark warning of a "catastrophe" in the event of an immediate withdrawal.
He said if his country descended into civil war, it could have harmful consequences for the whole Middle East region.
Mr Talabani said: "It would lead to a kind of civil war and... we will lose what we have done for liberating Iraq from worst kind of dictatorship.
"Instead of having a democratic, stable Iraq, we will have a civil war in Iraq, we will have troubles in Iraq [and they] will affect all the Middle East."
He acknowledged that an upsurge of violence could be expected in the run-up to National Assembly elections scheduled for 15 December.
However, he rejected suggestions insurgents would have an impact on the result.
He also denied there was a link between Britain's involvement in the Iraq war and the 7 July terror attacks in London.
The interview is due to be broadcast on Jonathan Dimbleby on ITV1 on Sunday at 1240 GMT.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/4432480.stm
