A senior U.S. State Department official said Thursday some friendly Arab countries are lagging in the effort to deliver diplomatic support to Iraq.
Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Egypt have not delivered their promises to send ambassadors to Baghdad as a sign of support, said David Satterfield, the State Department's Iraq coordinator.
Meanwhile, Satterfield reiterated that the United States does not seek permanent military bases in Iraq, but seeks a long-term relationship with the country.
The Bush administration has stressed that the planned status-of-forces agreement with Iraq will be able to provide a legal foundation for U.S. troops to operate in the country, and will not set the terms of U.S. troop levels there.
There are currently over 150,000 U.S. troops stationed in Iraq.
Some Democratic lawmakers have expressed concerns that the Bush administration might take advantage of such a planned agreement with Iraq to try to lock in a long-term U.S. military presence in Iraq before the U.S. presidential elections on Nov. 4.
Source: Xinhua
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