Talabani asks for French support of a democratic Iraq

In an interview with Le Figaro, Iraqi president Jalal Talabani spoke on the situation in his country and asked that France be supportive of efforts to establish a democracy in Iraq in the face of terrorism. Talibani, currently in France on an official visit, addressed various topics including the threat of civil war, the prospect of US withdrawal, the right of the Kurds to self-rule, and al Qaeda’s fading influence in the nation.

Talabani highlighted the need to better train and equip Iraqi security forces to ensure their preparedness once the US withdraws. However, he emphasized that an abrupt withdrawal at the present time would be “disastrous”, and said that the focus should be on establishing goals for the security forces rather than on setting a timetable for withdrawal.

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