IRAQ MPs BACK US PULLOUT

A majority of Iraqi lawmakers have signed a draft bill opposed by the government that requires a timetable for the withdrawal of US troops from Iraq.  The draft bill proposes a timeline for a gradual pullout, much like what US Democratic lawmakers have demanded, and requires the Iraqi government to secure parliament’s approval before any further extensions of the UN mandate for foreign troops in Iraq, which expires at the end of 2007. The motion is being championed by a 30-member bloc loyal to Shiite leader Moqtada Al-Sadr, but it has also gained support from some other Shiite, Sunni and Kurdish legislators. So far, at least 138 lawmakers have signed the proposed legislation.  Four years after the US occupation of Iraq, the overwhelming majority of Iraqis have lost all confidence in their “liberators” and are feeling increasingly insecure, according to a March survey conducted jointly by USA Today, ABC News, the BBC, and German TV network ARD. The poll found that 78% of Iraqis oppose the presence of US-led troops in Iraq and that only 18 percent of Iraqis have confidence in the US-led forces. In Iraq and the United States, there is deepening frustration among lawmakers and the public over the prolonged presence of US troops in Iraq and President George W. Bush’s troop build-up.