By David Nather, CQ Staff

Sen. Barack Obama , D-Ill., and two other senators visiting Iraq with him acknowledged Monday that violent attacks have decreased there, but said Iraqi leaders don’t want U.S. troops there forever and are calling for “an aspirational timeline, with a clear date, for the redeployment of American combat forces” out of the country.

After visits to Baghdad and Basra, Obama and Sens. Chuck Hagel , R-Neb., and Jack Reed , D-R.I., issued a joint statement that attributed the decrease in violence to “the extraordinary efforts of our armed forces, more effective Iraqi security forces, the decision by the Sunni Awakening to fight ‘Al Qaeda in Iraq’ and the cease-fire by Shiite militia.”

By crediting several factors for the increasing stability in Iraq, the senators avoided giving too much credit to the “surge” of U.S. troops -- the focal point of Obama’s disagreement with Sen. John McCain , R-Ariz., over the best strategy for Iraq. McCain says the surge is the main reason violence is down, and has warned of disastrous consequences if U.S. troops are pulled out too soon.

In addition, Obama, Hagel, and Reed reported that Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, who met with the senators in Baghdad, told the group he hoped U.S. combat troops could be withdrawn from Iraq in 2010. That would fit approximately with Obama’s timetable of withdrawing most combat troops within 16 months.

“Prime Minister Maliki told us that while the Iraqi people deeply appreciate the sacrifices of American soldiers, they do not want an open-ended presence of U.S. combat forces,” the senators said in the statement. “The prime minister said that now is an appropriate time to start to plan for the reorganization of our troops in Iraq -- including their numbers and missions.”

The senators said political progress and economic development are proceeding too slowly to bring long-term stability to the country.

In addition, the senators said they discussed with Iraqi leaders “the need to secure public support through our respective legislatures for any long term security agreements our countries negotiate.” That was a reference to a joint security agreement the Bush administration has been negotiating with the Iraqi government.

Obama and many of his Democratic colleagues want the administration to submit any such agreement to Congress for approval, arguing that it should not make any commitments that would tie the next president’s hands.

In addition to meeting with Maliki, the senators took a helicopter flight over Baghdad with General David Petraeus, the commander of U.S. forces in Iraq, and received briefings from Petraeus and U.S. Ambassador Ryan Crocker. They also visited with troops in Baghdad and Basra.