Talabani predicts U.S. exit in two years
Pakistan appeals for envoy's release
BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- The newly elected president of Iraq said Sunday he expects that U.S. troops will be gone from his country within two years.
Jalal Talabani told CNN two years should be enough time for Iraqi forces to rebuild and secure control of the country as well as take over the job currently being performed by some 140,000 U.S. troops.
"We are trying to build -- as soon as possible -- our military forces," he told "Late Edition with Wolf Blitzer."
"I think within two years, we can do it, and at the same time, we will remain in full consultation and coordination, cooperation with our American friends."
Talabani said how long U.S. forces remain in Iraq will depend on a number of factors, including "the common desire of Iraqi people and American people."
Two prominent U.S. senators told CNN Sunday they were optimistic that Talabani's prediction could come true.
The two-year figure "probably is realistic in terms of the bulk of the troops," said Sen. Richard Lugar, an Indiana Republican and chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee.
Sen. Joe Biden of Delaware, the committee's top Democrat, said, "The single most important thing we have to be doing now is make sure that training is on target and that they have the capacity to govern."
"By the end of '06 we're going to have a pretty clear picture of whether or not it's succeeding or failing," Biden said. "And success will be dependent upon a government that's representative and a capacity to govern in terms of security."
But even if that is not achieved, "I suspect you'll see the American people calling for us to significantly draw down anyway," he said.
Talabani predicted Iraq's new constitution will be drafted by August 15 as scheduled, though he can ask for a six-month extension.
Talabani is the first Kurd to serve as president of a majority Arab nation. Dictator Saddam Hussein oppressed Kurds and was an enemy of Talabani.
Video of his election was shown to Saddam and other imprisoned former regime members.
"I think the Iraqi minister of human rights wanted to show them which kind of democracy now we have," Talabani said.
He disputed the view of some critics that his role will be largely symbolic.
"That is not true," he said. "According to the law, the president represents the sovereignty of Iraq, and he has the right to look over all important issues and affairs of the government.
"He -- with two vice presidents and with the prime minister and his deputies and with the speaker of the house -- they are forming a collective leadership," Talabani said.
Protests urge U.S. withdrawal
Several thousand protesters gathered Saturday in Baghdad to urge the withdrawal of American troops from Iraq as well as to call for national unity and denounce terrorism. (Full story)
The protest and other demonstrations marked the second anniversary of the fall of Saddam's regime and the famous toppling of the former ruler's statue in Baghdad's Firdos Square.
In cities of the "Sunni Triangle" west of Baghdad, protesters also demanded the withdrawal of U.S. troops. Sunni Arabs, who dominated in Saddam's government, don't have the clout they once had.
Shiites, who make up 60 percent of the Iraq's 26 million people, and Kurds hold sway in the new transitional National Assembly, elected in January.
U.S. officials have said repeatedly they will not set a timetable for the withdrawal of American troops.
"Our troops will come home when Iraqis are capable of defending themselves," President Bush said at a news conference last month.
Group claims kidnapping
An Iraqi group has claimed to have kidnapped a Pakistani diplomat, who failed to return home from evening prayers at a western Baghdad mosque, Pakistan's Foreign Ministry said.
The Foreign Ministry said Malik Mohammad Javaid had contacted the Baghdad embassy to say he was unharmed.
"I appeal to the kidnappers to release Malik Mohammad Javaid. He is a civilian member of the embassy staff," Information Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed said at a news conference on Sunday, Reuters reported.
A Pakistani official told CNN Sunday a group known as Omer Bin Khatab said it kidnapped Javaid on Saturday.
The group has not previously been heard of or claimed responsibility for other kidnappings, according to Reuters.
The diplomat was last seen leaving the mosque in Amiriya in west Baghdad about 8 p.m. local time (1600 GMT) Saturday, police said.
Pakistan was a key U.S. ally in its fight against al Qaeda but opposed the invasion of Iraq in March 2003.
Last year insurgents kidnapped and killed two Pakistani truck drivers, accusing them of working with U.S. forces in Iraq.
Also Sunday, the terrorist group al Qaeda in Iraq, led by Jordanian militant Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, claimed to have kidnapped and killed Najaf police Brig. Gen. Bassem Mohammed Kadhim al-Jazaari while he was visiting Baghdad, according to The Associated Press.
Car bomb wounds U.S. soldier
Two car bombs were reported Sunday in Iraq, one wounding a U.S. soldier and the other wounding four Iraqi civilians.
Separately, the U.S. military said a soldier died Saturday from wounds suffered in "a non-hostile incident" on April 6 near Forward Operating Base Kalsu.
In a written statement, the U.S.-led multinational forces said a soldier with Task Force Liberty was wounded Sunday in Baquba when a car bomb detonated near his combat patrol at about 6:45 a.m. (11:45 p.m. ET).
In Baghdad, Iraqi police officials said a car bomb targeting a U.S. military convoy detonated near the Amiriya district, in the western part of the capital, wounding four Iraqi civilians and damaging three civilian cars.
Also, police said, two members of the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq were shot by unidentified gunmen in eastern Baghdad. One died; the other was critically wounded.
The council is one of the major political parties in the United Iraqi Alliance, the Shiite-led coalition that has a major voice in developing the new government.
Multinational forces also said troops detained 13 suspected insurgents in northern Iraq and confiscated explosives Sunday.
CNN's Kevin Flower, Ayman Mohyeldin, Mike Mount, Barbara Starr and Mohammed Tawfeeq contributed to this report.
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Associated Press contributed to this report.
