While the powers that be in Washington, D.C., quibble about the acceptability of terms such as time lines, time tables and the newly coined time horizons, Iraqi officials appear intent on having U.S. combat troops out of their country by October 2010.

That strikes us as a rather specific time, no matter what it's called. And we believe it is about time somebody set in motion a schedule for outside troop withdrawal and the re-establishment of this sovereign nation in the Middle East.

Leave it to the Iraqi people themselves to assert their own authority.

Even though U.S. officials won't acknowledge any such deal has been brokered, two top-level Iraqis are letting it be known there is an end in sight for the ongoing war there.

One key component of the talks has been whether U.S. military forces would be granted immunity from prosecution by Iraqi courts for any crimes committed while in country. The United States is seeking blanket immunity while Iraq appears willing to grant immunity for actions committed on American bases and during combat operations. A compromise must be found if this is the primary sticking point for bringing home our brave men and women.

We are encouraged by the news out of Baghdad on Thursday even if the sources were granted anonymity. We remain steadfast in our belief that the only positive result to be achieved in this ill-fated war is for it to end. We can't undo the damage caused by our overly aggressive Oval Office nor can we bring back the thousands of dead.

What we can do is surrender our imperialistic impulse and return Iraq to its rightful owners: The Iraqi people. They seek to assume control and remove foreign combatants from their soil. This is one request we should accommodate.

Editorial by Patrick Lowry

plowry@dailynews.net