U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has cautioned Iran not to
misinterpret the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq as a sign of decreasing
U.S. commitment to the fledgling democracy.
Clinton said the United States will continue its
training mission with Iraq and that it would resemble operations in Colombia and
elsewhere.
While the United States will not have combat troops in Iraq, she said the
American presence would remain strong because of its bases in the region.
"Iran would be badly miscalculating if they did not look at the entire region
and all of our presence in many countries in the region, both in bases, in
training, with NATO allies, like Turkey," she told CNN.
Clinton's comments to U.S. media come days after U.S. President Barack Obama
announced that all U.S. troops will return from Iraq by the end of the year.
He said the troop withdrawal would close a chapter in U.S.-Iraqi ties that began
in 2003 with the U.S.-led invasion to overthrow Saddam Hussein.
Over the weekend, Iranian President Mahmud Ahmadinejad was quoted as saying
Tehran has "a very good relationship" with Iraq's government, and said the
relationship will continue to grow.
compiled from agency reports
Copyright (c) 2011 RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036. www.rferl.org
