WASHINGTON (AFP)--The White House on Thursday called the military accord approved by the Iraqi parliament a "success story," saying it reflected how the country had made dramatic progress since President George W. Bush deployed more troops last year to quell violence.
Bush on Thursday congratulated the Iraqi parliament for passing the landmark deal that will see all U.S. troops withdraw from the war-torn country by the end of 2011.
"Today's vote affirms the growth of Iraq's democracy and increasing ability to secure itself," the U.S. president said in a statement. "We look forward to a swift approval by Iraq's Presidency Council."
The deal - comprising two separate agreements governing the U.S. military presence in Iraq after their UN mandate expires on December 31 - was approved by a large majority after 11 months of tough negotiations with Washington and a domestic political bargaining.
"Given where we were in January 2007, we have seen an almost unthinkable pace of progress on political, economic and security issues," said White House spokeswoman Dana Perino in a statement, referring to the month that Bush announced a "surge" strategy of additional combat forces for Iraq.
"So much so, that the improved conditions allowed us to come to this mutual agreement with a sovereign Iraq that is solving its problems in the political process, not with guns and bombs.
"This is an incredible success story for our military and for the Iraqi Security Forces."
The 2011 deadline should allow U.S. and Iraqi forces enough time to "solidify gains made in the last year," she said.
Some 4,200 U.S. soldiers have been killed in the country in a war which has also cost the U.S. hundreds of billions of dollars.
While the unpopular war helped drive down Bush's approval ratings to dismal levels, the White House said that recent events have vindicated the president's approach.
"Because of the president's decision to surge more troops, because Iraqis stepped up and fought back against terrorists, we are now in a position that we can have a long term bilateral agreement with Iraq and most importantly, more US troops can come home with honor after achieving great success that will bring stability to the region and give America a strong ally against terrorism in the heart of the Middle East."
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(END) Dow Jones Newswires
November 27, 2008 17:47 ET (22:47 GMT)

Publié le 27 novembre 2008 Copyright © 2008 Dowjones