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WASHINGTON, June 12 (UPI) — Timely withdrawal from Iraq presents the best option for driving al-Qaida out of the troubled country, one expert says.

U.S. interests in the conflict, primarily preventing the country from becoming a launching pad for terrorists, would be best served by setting a 12-month timetable for disengagement said Lawrence Korb, senior fellow with the Center for American Progress, speaking at an Iraq policy forum Monday.

If U.S. forces withdraw from Iraq, local and regional interests will extinguish the growing al-Qaida force in Iraq, Korb told attendees at the forum, hosted by the Saban Center for Middle East Policy.

“I can’t see Iran, for example, wanting it to become a haven for al-Qaida,” he said. “(Al-Qaida’s) a Sunni Arab group and they’re obviously Shiite Persians.”

Pressure within Iraq might also help quell al-Qaida activity, Korb said. Shiites constitute the largest majority in the country and would probably drive out the foreign Sunni group.

“If we can believe the opinion polls, there’s very little support for al-Qaida in Iraq,” Korb said. “I find it hard to think once we’re out of there that (al-Qaida) would still get the aid and comfort that they’ve been getting up to now.”

The terrorist organization has taken advantage of the American presence in Iraq to gain favor with locals, Korb said, and will continue to find sympathy and attract recruits until U.S. troops leave.

Other extremist groups and violent factions may dissolve as well without a common enemy to fight against.

“The one thing that unites a lot of these groups is to get us out, so once you set a timetable they don’t have that excuse any more,” he said.

A quick withdrawal will also allow the United States to focus forces elsewhere, better combating larger problems in the Middle East, Korb said.