Iraqi premier: U.S. troops will leave as scheduled

BAGHDAD - Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki said Saturday that an agreement requiring U.S. troops to leave by the end of 2011 will stand because Iraqi forces are capable of taking care of the country's security.

The comments are his first on the subject since being tasked with forming a new government after nearly nine months of political deadlock, and some of his strongest to date on what is expected to be a key issue facing the next government.

"The security agreement with what it included of dates and commitments will remain valid, and I do not feel the need for the presence of any other international forces to help Iraqis control the security situation," al-Maliki told reporters.

Under an agreement between Iraq and the United States, all American troops are to leave the country by the end of 2011. The United States has a little less than 50,000 troops in Iraq, down from a one-time high of 170,000.

American officials have said they will abide by the agreement although they would consider any request by the new Iraqi government to stay longer.

Earlier this month, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Washington is open to discussing changes to the agreement. But he said the "initiative clearly needs to come from the Iraqis." Allowing American troops to stay longer could help reinforce Iraq's developing security forces.

But it would be a dangerous gamble for the Iraqi and U.S. governments. President Barack Obama was elected with a promise to end the Iraq war. Any Iraqi political leader who asked the Americans to stay would risk looking weak to an electorate tired of U.S. troops on their soil.

One sign of the Iraqi security forces' burgeoning capability came Saturday when Iraq's interior minister said they have arrested at least 12 insurgents behind a deadly church siege.

Interior Minister Jawad Bolani said the arrests in connection with the October siege at the Our Lady of Salvation church occurred in recent days. "It is a painful blow to al-Qaida," Bolani said.