Congressman talks about US pullout; six marines, more Iraqis killed

Six US marines were killed in Iraq while several Iraqis were killed and injured in different blowing up operations following the killing of 46 Iraqis in various attacks on Wednesday.

A statement by the American army on Thursday said that five American soldiers were killed in an explosion near Ramadi to the west of Baghdad. This was the second attack of its kind during one week that resulted in a large number of American military casualties.

The statement confirmed that a 6th soldier died on Wednesday because of wounds he had had when fire was opened at him in one operation that took place in the same city.

This coincided with the Congress escalation of its pressure on the White House in order to produce a timetable for the withdrawal of the American forces from Iraq in 2006.

The office of the Republican congressman Walter Jones talked yesterday about a draft resolution calling on the White House to give a plan for withdrawal from Iraq. He said "The resolution I am co-sponsoring will do no more than call on the President to set a plan and a date to begin reducing the number of troops we have in Iraq. It does not in any way, shape or form set a date certain for complete withdrawal. This approach should give the President the flexibility he needs to reduce our presence in a way that protects U.S. troops and allows Iraqis to pick up the fight."

Congressman Jones stated that "As Brigadier General Donald Alston, the chief U.S. military spokesman in Iraq, said last week: ' . . . this insurgency is not going to be settled . . . through military options or military operations. It's going to be settled in the political process.'"