Gates warns Iraqis U.S. commitment not open-ended

Gates warns Iraqis U.S. commitment not open-ended

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"The Iraqis have to know ... this isn't an open-ended commitment," Gates said, referring to Washington's troop presence in Iraq and level of support for the Iraqi government.

"Frankly I would like to see faster progress," Gates told reporters before departing Tel Aviv for Baghdad.

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The thing I don't get is this: if the US government has no problem uttering statements like this, then why is it so hard for them to accept a troop withdrawl date?

Even if the date the Democrats are proposing is too soon, why won't they budge on the idea of setting a withdrawl date being a guaranteed victory for the insurgence?

Why not negotiate a bi-partisan withdrawl date? This way the statement "commitment not open-ended" and "a deadline to withdrawl is victory for the enemy" are not condradictory.

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