Iraq hopes economic crisis won't affect US troops

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
Iraq hopes the US financial crisis won't lead to a "drastic" decision to immediately withdraw the 146,000 American troops from the country, Iraq's top diplomat said Friday. In an interview with The Associated Press, Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari said a precipitous withdrawal could have consequences for the country and the region that everyone would regret afterward. Zebari said he didn't have any indications that the US administration was thinking about pushing for a speedier exit from Iraq, where it has spent more than $550 billion, because of the financial meltdown. "But this is the logic of the dance," Zebari said. "Nobody anticipated this major crisis, and still there are ongoing efforts to overcome it, to contain its impact, bail out some of these companies with a huge infusion of cash. But the crisis is evident everywhere."