(Xinhua)
Updated: 2008-01-25 07:15

WASHINGTON - US Defense Secretary Robert Gates denied on Thursday that the country is vying to establish permanent bases in Iraq.

Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, left. and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Adm. Michael Mullin, talk with reporters at the Pentagon in Washington Thursday, Jan. 24, 2008. [Agencies]

"I think it is pretty clear that such an agreement would not talk about force levels. It would not involve - we have no interest in permanent bases," he told reporters.

Gates made the remarks as President George W. Bush's administration pushes for negotiation on a long-term agreement with Iraq on the US forces presence.

However, State Department spokesman Tom Casey told reporters on Thursday that the plan would be just a "status of forces agreement " that outlines the legal basis for the US troops presence, not including provisions on how many troops should stay, dictate operations or establish permanent bases in Iraq.

"This is certainly not an effort to tie anyone's hands," Casey said. "This is very much an effort to provide current and future policymakers with the full range of options available to them."

When asked whether the agreement would lead to US permanent military bases in Iraq, Casey said that it would not. He also denied that the U.S. would make commitment through the agreement " in terms of numbers or operations" of the troops.