Barack Obama

CHICAGO (Reuters):

Senator Barack Obama called yesterday for a reduction of U.S. troops in Iraq in four to six months, redeploying some to the more secure northern part of the country and allowing for a stronger force in Afghanistan.

The Illinois Democrat, who is considering a run for his party's 2008 presidential nomination, opposed the Iraq war before his election in 2004 and voted in favour of a congressional resolution demanding that 2006 be a year of significant transition in Iraq.

Speaking to the Chicago Council on Global Affairs, Obama said there should be a "phased redeployment of U.S. troops from Iraq on a timetable that would begin in four to six months."

Gradual and substantial

"I'm not suggesting that this timetable be overly rigid," he added, but said President George W. Bush should announce as policy a "gradual and substantial" withdrawal.

"Drawing down our troops in Iraq will allow us to redeploy additional troops to northern Iraq and elsewhere in the region ... this force could help prevent the conflict in Iraq from becoming a wider war, consolidate gains in northern Iraq," and allow troop levels in Afghanistan to be bolstered, he said.

"The President's decision to go to war in Iraq has had disastrous consequences for Afghanistan," he said. "We have seen a fierce Taliban offensive, a spike in terrorist attacks, and a narcotrafficking problem spiral out of control.

"I have long said that the only solution in Iraq is a political one ... the days of asking, urging and waiting for them to take control of their own country are coming to an end. No more coddling, no more equivocation," Obama said.

"Let me emphasise one vital point: Any U.S. strategy must address the problem of sectarian militias in Iraq," he said.

Phased withdrawal

Other prominent Democrats have also called for a phased withdrawal starting in four to six months. They include Michigan Sen. Carl Levin, who is expected to head the Senate Armed Services Committee in the new Congress in January.

President Bush has insisted U.S. troops would not leave until Iraqis can take over security and has repeatedly rejected setting a timetable for withdrawal. However, the White House has said that Bush is open to new ideas.

Obama repeated his call for a regional conference that would include "the Iraqis, Saudis, Iranians, Syrians, the Turks, Jordanians, the British and others ... to get foreign fighters out of Iraq, prevent a further descent into civil war and push the various Iraqi factions toward a political solution."