Iraq Troop Withdrawal

CRAWFORD, Texas (AP) — President George W. Bush and Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki have spoken by phone as work on a plan to withdraw U.S. troops from Iraq by 2011 continues. White House spokesman Gordon Johndroe said Friday that Bush and the al-Maliki "had a good conversation." But he added "there are a lot of details that have to be worked out." The deal now under discussion between U.S. and Iraqi negotiators sets a course for American combat troops to pull out of major Iraqi cities by next June, with a broader exit two years later from the long and costly war that began in March 2003. The dates could be changed if security and political progress in Iraq deteriorate. There are about 140,000 U.S. forces in Iraq, according to United States Central Command, and more than 4,100 American troops have been killed there.