Cairo, Sept 18, SPA -- Declaring that Iraq will likely stillneed American troops to fight terrorism for two more years,Iraqi President Jalal Talabani was quoted Sunday as sayingthat it is up to the United States to decide when to leavethe beleaguered country. Talabani had said in an earlier interview that the UnitedStates could start withdrawing as many as 50,000 troops bythe end of the year, raising eyebrows in Washington. He clarified those comments in an interview with theLondon-based Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper. "What I have said is that the United State can startwithdrawing tens of thousands of its forces next year, butit is up to the United States to decide," Talabani said."I am not the commander of the U.S. forces." "We still need the American troops to stay for manyreasons: to train our forces and to fight terrorism," hetold the paper in an interview from New York, where he isattending the U.N. General Assembly. U.S. President George W. Bush has refused to set adeadline for withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq, Talabani said he hoped the Iraqi security forces wouldsoon be up to the level of taking responsibility from theAmericans. "I believe that it is now time for the Iraqis to be inthe forefront in fighting terrorism and the Americans willbe in the rear to be recalled when needed," he was quoted as saying by The Associated Press. Talabani's comments came as Iraq prepares for a referendumnext month on the country's new constitution.--SPA1454 Local Time 1154 GMT www.spa.gov.sa/290146