KARN News Radio

Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has asked the U.S. Military to give his country some kind of timetable for troop withdrawals as part of the negotiations between the two nations on America's continued role in Iraq. This is the first time al-Maliki has publicly called for such a timetable, which his national security adviser said they'd like to be conditioned on the ability of Iraqi forces to provide security. President Bush opposes setting up a timetable for the withdrawal of troops, mostly due to the current state of the Iraqi security forces.