U.S. says withdrawal from Iraq to be conditioned

The United States said on Tuesday the withdrawal of its troops in Iraq will be based on conditions on the ground and rejected the Iraqi demand to set a timetable for a pull-out.
"The U.S. government and the government of Iraq are in agreement that we, the U.S. government, we want to withdraw, we will withdraw. However, that decision will be conditions-based," State Department spokesman Gonzalo Gallegos said.
"We're looking at conditions, not calendars here," Gallegos said, adding that the United States is committed to departing.
Iraq has urged the United States to set a timetable for withdrawal and said it will not accept any security pact with the United States if there is not a date for U.S. withdrawal.
Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki said Monday that Iraq was seeking a timetable of U.S. troops withdrawal as part of its negotiations with the United States on the status of U.S. forces in Iraq beyond 2008.
U.S. President George W. Bush has repeatedly said that there is no clear timetable for the U.S. troops to withdraw from Iraq.