Iraq VP says Blair, Bush to study pullout timetable

http://today.reuters.co.uk/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=topNews&storyID=2006-05-24T171140Z_01_MAC459003_RTRUKOC_0_UK-IRAQ-INSURGENCY.xml

Iraq VP says Blair, Bush to study pullout timetable

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - A top Iraqi leader said Tony Blair assured him in Baghdad this week that he and President George W. Bush would discuss a timetable for withdrawing troops when the British prime minister flies to Washington on Thursday.

Though Vice President Tareq al-Hashemi conceded that Blair did not agree to set a timetable, the Sunni politician told Reuters on Wednesday that the British leader agreed to consider a suggestion that would go some way to satisfying demands from Sunni insurgents that the occupiers set a firm date for leaving.

Though the two sides remain far apart, his comments and the latest bullish forecast from new Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki that his forces could run all Iraq within 18 months reinforce comments from Iraqi political sources that the new government hopes for rapid progress on peace with some Sunni rebel groups.