Iraq focused on building military forces

BAGHDAD, Dec. 29 (UPI) -- Iraq is eager to get to work on rebuilding a security force capable of defending the nation from regional threats, a deputy prime minister said.

Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki told The Wall Street Journal all U.S. troops must leave his country by the end of 2011.

In a two-hour interview published Tuesday, his first after a new government was formed following nine months of political stalemate, Maliki said Iraq would assume the responsibility for security and won't form closer ties with Iran.

Maliki's demands are in line with a bilateral status of forces agreement signed in 2008 that requires all U.S. forces to leave Iraq by Dec. 31, 2011.

Deputy Prime Minister Saleh al-Mutlaq said following a meeting with top U.S. military commanders in Iraq that it was important that remaining U.S. troops provide technical support to enhance the performance of Iraqi security forces, the Voices of Iraq news agency reports.

"We are striving to build a new and strong Iraq, possessing security forces that cope with its regional and international bulk, that will actively share in boosting the platform of security and stability for its people and the whole region," he was quoted as saying.

The Journal in its report Tuesday said some U.S. and Iraqi officials assumed the 2011 deadline would be extended given the pace of Iraqi political developments. Maliki dismissed the suggestion, saying the deadline wasn't up for debate.

"This agreement is not subject to extension, not subject to alteration," he said. "It is sealed."