President George Bush and Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki of Iraq spent the day discussing the Iraq situation and the U.S. plan for withdrawal. At the conclusion of their meetings the two released a joint communiqué outlining the early withdrawal plan for Iraq.
Mr. Bush indicated that any military intrusion should not use heavy military armor as this would prevent the soldiers from becoming intimately familiar with the Iraqi environment. Mr. Maliki added that "certainly with no armament, the soldieries would be openly and warmly embraced". They both agreed however that a timely withdrawal was key to their plan.
Wendell Homer, Early Withdrawal Specialist with the Near East Institute, commented that any pull out plan had inherent risks. As the occupiers of Iraqi territory become intimate with their environment, focus on a pull out time table is lost and a timely pull out becomes less probable.
Cardinal Fabian Ignatius of the Iraqi order added, that an early withdrawal plan for Iraq was the only plan the Catholic Church was really able to endorse.
Talking on her way to the Republic of Georgia, Secretary of State Condolesa Rice emphasized that she hoped the mission could be achieved without a climatic catastrophe.
