“You want to make me say yes or no before I gather the national consensus?’’ Maliki retorted. “I will not say it.’’
His words signaled a shift that could open the way for a long-term American troop presence in Iraq, though a top US military officer all but ruled that out.
Maliki said he will meet with political leaders by the end of this month to gauge support. His insistence on a unified decision underscored how difficult it will be for any Iraqi leader to admit needing more military help from the country that invaded eight years ago.
“I will bring the leaders of the political blocs together. If they say yes, I will agree and if they say no, I will reject it,’’ Maliki said at a news conference at his office in the fortified Green Zone in Baghdad.
He faces an American-imposed deadline to decide within weeks whether to ask US troops to stay longer. A revolving door of American officials, including Joint Chiefs chairman Admiral Mike Mullen and Defense Secretary Robert Gates, have passed through Iraq in recent weeks, each appearing intent on getting Iraq to make up its mind.
The United States has suggested it would favor extending the troop presence in Iraq. Gates has acknowledged that the United States has an interest in having US troops in Iraq after this year.
And in an indication that there would be some congressional support, House Speaker John Boehner said after an April trip to Iraq that the United States should keep a residual force — potentially up to 10,000 soldiers — in the country.
The United States has always been clear that it must be Iraq who does the asking.
In an interview last night, Lieutenant General Frank G. Helmick said the American military is still focused on leaving in December and is urging Iraqi security forces to acknowledge their weaknesses and try to close those gaps as quickly as possible.
