SHARM EL-SHEIKH - Egypt and other Arab states cautioned the United States Tuesday against a precipitous troop withdrawal from Iraq, warning of the risks of destabilising the region, US Defence Secretary Robert Gates said.
The concerns were raised in talks that he and US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice held here with Egyptian leaders, and in a separate meeting Rice had with officials from Egypt, Jordan, and the Gulf states, Gates said.
"I think there is clearly a concern on the part of the Egyptians, and I think it reflects concerns elsewhere in the region, that the United States will somehow withdraw precipitously from Iraq, or in some way that is destabilising for the entire region," Gates said.
At a press conference with Rice, Gates said the Egyptians offered "no prescriptions, only expressions of concerns that we look at the path ahead, and that we take into account those concerns," he said.
"And in turn we reassured them, as Secretary Rice has said, that the president is very much concerned about doing what is in the best interests of the stability of the region," he said.
Gates gave no hint of how long US forces might stay in Iraq in their current numbers, but gave broad assurances that the United States had a long-term interest in ensuring the stability of the region.
US commanders have said significant numbers of US troops will be needed in Iraq for at least two more years because Iraqi security forces are not yet strong enough.
There are currently about 158,000 US troops in Iraq.
"What I have begun to hear is more and more of an undertone, even from those who oppose the president's policy, of the need to take into account the consequences if we make a change in our policy and the dangers inherent in doing it unwisely," Gates said.
"So we are in a position to say there is a growing body of opinion in Washington that whatever we do next in Iraq needs to be done very carefully, very thoroughly and with a view to the long-term stability of the region," he said.
He said he did not mean to suggest there was greater political support in Washington for a keeping US forces in Iraq longer.
"I'm not talking about the pacing of a withdrawal, but there needs to be attention paid, regardless if there's a change in the president's policy, on the consequences here in the region," he said.
Rice and Gates acknowledged that the Arab officials expressed concern about Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki and his Shiite-led government's lack of progress in fostering national reconciliation.
"There is no secret that on the political front, progress has not been as rapidly as had been hoped," Rice said.
But she said Iraq's neighbors had not done enough to further reconciliation process or impose stricter border controls to stem the flow of foreign fighters to Iraq.
"There was discussion about what could be done to encourage Sunni Arabs to be full partners in national reconciliation," she said.
After the meetings, Gates and Rice traveled to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia to meet with King Abdullah.

07/31/2007 16:16 GMT