http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20050109/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq_elections&cid=540&ncid=1480<snip>
Members of the powerful Association of Muslim Scholars relayed their request to a senior U.S. embassy official at a meeting Saturday, the Sunni official said on condition of anonymity.
The meeting was confirmed Saturday by U.S. Embassy spokesman Bob Callahan, who said an unnamed senior embassy official in Iraq met with leading association members in an effort to persuade them to participate in the landmark election for a constitutional assembly.
Callahan described the meeting as an "exchange of views" but would not elaborate. He said U.S. Ambassador John Negroponte was not present.
It is extremely unlikely the United States would consider giving a timetable for a withdrawal.