Iraqi PM: Wrong time for U.S. pullout

BAGHDAD, Nov. 23 (UPI) -- Iraqi Vice President Tareq al-Hashemi said he doesn't believe now is the right time to pull U.S. troops from his country.

Hashemi, in an interview with Egypt's weekly magazine Al-Ahram Al-Arabi scheduled for release Saturday, said he is in favor of removing the U.S. forces from Iraq but the timing of such a decision is crucial, KUNA, the Kuwait News Agency, reported Friday.

"The exit of foreign troops is a national demand that nobody would ever argue against but the problem is timing," he said.

The vice president called on Iraqi citizens to support the national plan he is helping to draft that is aimed at facilitating the withdrawal of foreign troops from the country.

Hashemi said the most important issue faced by Iraqis is who "would control security in the country if the foreign troops withdrew."