Skip to main content

US Defense Chief, Iraqi PM Discuss Military Sales





By VOA News
24 July 2009

U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates has offered to try to speed U.S. approval of military equipment sales to Iraq.

Iraq's PM Nouri al-Maliki speaks with members of his delegation at the 62nd UN General Assembly, 26 Sep 2007
Iraq's PM Nouri al-Maliki (file photo)
Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morrell says a meeting Thursday between Gates and Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki at the Pentagon focused on the equipment Iraq needs to improve its security forces.

Morrell provided no specifics on the weapons systems discussed. But he said the talks covered air, land and sea systems, and that the U.S. wants to see Iraqi forces modernize in a variety of ways.

Mr. Maliki also met in Washington Thursday with the speaker of the House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, and Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman John Kerry.







The Iraqi leader said these meetings come at a time of successful security-related developments in Iraq.

U.S. combat troops withdrew from Iraqi cities less than one month ago on June 30 and transferred security responsibilities for urban areas to Iraqi forces.

On Thursday, Secretary Gates credited improvements in Iraqi security forces, Mr. Maliki's leadership and the Iraq-US partnership for Iraq's ability to take over security in its cities.

On Wednesday, Prime Minister Maliki and President Barack Obama met at the White House to discuss Iraqi efforts to promote national unity, and Iraq's plan to distribute oil revenues among its different communities.

Mr. Obama says the United States is on schedule to withdraw all of its troops from Iraq by the end of 2011, despite the likelihood that "tough days" lie ahead. The United States still has about 130,000 troops in Iraq.

While in the United States, Mr. Maliki also is to meet with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner.





Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

US Stocks Surge to Highest Level of Year on Housing News

By Mil Arcega Washington 24 July 2009 The benchmark Dow Jones industrial average of the top US companies broke the 9,000 point mark Thursday on strong earnings reports and an improving housing picture. Wall Street extended its recent gains Thursday after a new housing report showed sales of previously owned U.S. homes rose at an annual pace of 3.6 percent in June. It was the third straight month of rising home sales. "The markets are reacting to the news today in the context of other things they've been seeing and reading in recent weeks, and that's that the economy does appear to have hit a bottom," said David Resler, chief economist at Nomura Securities. Investors reacted positively to earnings reports from Ford, Ebay, AT&T and higher sales of Apple's new iPhone. Resler says the positive earnings give a much needed confidence boost for the struggling U.S. economy. "I think...
Post a Comment
Read more

ASEAN pushes for resumption of N. Korea nuke talks

ASEAN and friends: Foreign Ministers from left, Vietnam's Pham Gia Khiem, South Korea's Kim Sung-hwan, Japan's Takeaki Matsumoto, Indonesia's Marty Natalegawa, and China's Yang Jiechi, hold hands during a group photo at the opening session of ASEAN Plus Three Foreign Ministers' Meeting in Nusa Dua, Bali, Indonesia, Thursday. (AP/Dita Alangkara) Associated Press, Nusa Dua | Thu, 07/21/2011 2:19 PM Foreign ministers from 10 Southeast Asian nations are calling for a speedy resumption of talks aimed at convincing North Korea to abandon its nuclear weapons program. China, the US, Japan, South Korea and Russia had been negotiating since 2003 to persuade Pyongyang to dismantle the program in exchange for aid and other concessions. The North pulled out of the talks about two years ago after being censured for launching a long-range rocket. It has indicated a willingness in recent months to return to the table. The 10-member Association of Southeast As...
Post a Comment
Read more