French Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin has urged the United States and other nations with troops in Iraq to withdraw from the country within one year.
In a speech Friday at Harvard University in Cambridge, in the northeastern state of Massachusetts, Villepin said the United States remains the leading power in the world. But he noted the war in Iraq marked a turning point, undermining not only America's image, but also the image of the West as a whole.
Villepin continued that it is time for the United States and Europe to regain the respect and admiration of other peoples.
Villepin said he believes a timetable for the withdrawal of all foreign troops is needed to allow Iraqis to feel their future is in their own hands and to put them back on the path of national sovereignty.
Some information for this report was provided by AFP, AP and Reuters.
