FACTBOX - Is Iraq serious about troop withdrawal timetable?

(Reuters) - Iraq raised for the first time this week the prospect of setting a timetable for the withdrawal of U.S. forces as part of negotiations over a new security deal with Washington. Following are answers to questions about the issue:

WHAT HAS IRAQ ACTUALLY SAID?

Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki first floated the idea on Monday without being specific. His national security adviser went a step further on Tuesday, saying Baghdad would not accept any deal with the United States unless it included dates for the withdrawal of foreign forces. The government spokesman countered that any timetable would depend on security conditions on the ground. Other Iraqi officials, unwilling to comment on the record, have suggested it is too soon to talk about details, saying negotiations on the security deal are not that far advanced. This suggests the specifics of any troop withdrawal timetable are far from being decided within Iraq's government.

"I don't think Maliki is very keen to set a timetable for withdrawal," said Joost Hiltermann, an Iraq expert at the International Crisis Group. "They (the govt) still know very well how much U.S. support they need for military operations."

SO WHY FLOAT THE IDEA?

Iraq's Arab neighbours -- sensitive to any U.S. military presence on Middle Eastern soil -- have long been reluctant to extend full legitimacy to Maliki's Shi'ite-led government partly because of its heavy reliance on American soldiers.

Iraq is also expected to hold local elections later this year and publicly setting a timetable for U.S. troops to leave would be good political strategy. One of Maliki's main domestic opponents, the movement of anti-American Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, quit the government last year when the prime minister refused to set a withdrawal deadline. That said, many Iraqis are ambivalent about the presence of U.S. forces -- they want them gone but not before they feel the country is secure enough.

"They know they can do it without real punishment because the Bush administration is a lame duck and Maliki knows the Americans have no alternative to him," added Hiltermann.

WHAT HAS BEEN THE U.S. REACTION?