Iraqi prime minister: U.S. troops can leave anytime they want'« Thread Started on Jul 14, 2007, 7:17pm » --------------------------------------------------------------------------------Iraqi prime minister says U.S. troops can go 'anytime they want'read at source> http://edition.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/meast ... tmlBAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) -- Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki shrugged off U.S. doubts of his government's military and political progress Saturday, saying Iraqi forces are capable and American troops can leave "anytime they want." At a news conference Saturday, Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki said his government needs "time and effort" to enact the political reforms that Washington seeks. 1 of 2 One of his top aides, meanwhile, accused the United States of embarrassing the Iraqi government by violating human rights and treating his country like an "experiment in a U.S. lab."Al-Maliki sought to display confidence at a time when pressure is mounting in Congress for a speedy withdrawal of U.S. forces. On Thursday, the House passed a measure calling for the United States to withdraw its troops by spring, hours after the White House reported mixed progress by the Iraqi government toward meeting 18 benchmarks.During a news conference, al-Maliki shrugged off the progress report, saying that difficulty in enacting the reforms was "natural" given Iraq's turmoil."We are not talking about a government in a stable political environment, but one in the shadow of huge challenges," al-Maliki said. "So when we talk about the presence of some negative points in the political process, that's fairly natural."