Posted on 07/05/2011 4:32:10 PM PDT by Pan_Yan
BAGHDAD — The White House is offering to keep up to 10,000 troops in Iraq next year, U.S. officials say, despite opposition from many Iraqis and key Democratic Party allies who demand that President Barack Obama bring home the American military as promised.
Any extension of the military’s presence, however, depends on a formal request from Baghdad — which must weigh questions about the readiness of Iraqi security forces against fears of renewed militant attacks and unrest if U.S. soldiers stay beyond the December pullout deadline.
Iraq is not expected to decide until September at the earliest when the 46,000 U.S. forces left in the country had hoped to start heading home.
Already, though, the White House has worked out options to keep between 8,500 and 10,000 active-duty troops to continue training Iraqi security forces during 2012, according to senior Obama administration and U.S. military officials in interviews with The Associated Press. The figures also were noted by foreign diplomats in Baghdad briefed on the issue.
All spoke on condition of anonymity to frankly discuss the sensitive matter during interviews over the past two weeks.
White House spokesman Jay Carney on Tuesday said the Pentagon is still planning for all U.S. troops to withdraw by year’s end, noting that time is running out for Iraq’s government to ask them to stay.
“We have said for a long time now if the Iraqi government asks us to maintain some level of troops beyond that end of the year deadline, we would consider it,” Carney told reporters in Washington.
He appeared to back off that possibility, however, adding: “That doesn’t necessarily mean we would do it. We would just consider it. And I really don’t have any more information on that possible outcome because, again, we haven’t even gotten a request.”
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
WTH???
Once in you can’t leave without dire consequences. Our departure will mark the growth of someone. I can’t say if it will be Iran or China but those are the most likely suspects. It won’t take long either and the chaos that follows will make much of what has come before look like child’s play.
Historians will mark that Saddam was the best friend we had in Persia.
They have been training the iraqi military since 2004 - maybe the iraqis have learning disabilities.
>Absolutely not<
How about effing NO! Send our 10,000 soldiers to the US mexican border.
They lack ministers for Interior (all police) and Defense. Interior is slated to go to a Maliki loyalist, while Defense will go to an Allawi backer, possibly a Sunni professional soldier. The energy portfolios are consolidated under a new office, Deputy PM for Energy Affairs. It is held by a Maliki backer (and sometime friend of Iran), Hussein al-Shahristani. The parliament is a mess and tends to only pass laws dealing with national holidays, etc. That said, a modest US presence after 12/31/2011 would do a lot of good in 4 main areas: (1) intel support, they share a lot and some of it is quality on AQ and Iran; (2) regional issues (Iran); keeping the fragile peache up north with the Kurds (absent a neutral party up there, it’ll be war); and (4) reassure the IOCs. Even though US companies didn’t get many of the big contracts (only Exxon and Occidental), US companies are getting billions in sub-contracts all over Basra province. I’d also throw in (5), Sunni reassurance. They switched sides in 06-07 and turned the tide, now they are getting whacked daily and arming for Civil War 2.0 vs. the Shia, Just by staying, we can keep that at the level of gang violence, as opposed to at the level of Baghdad, 2006.
My brother is headed to the sandbox this month for 15 months. The plan is to withdraw into Kuwait on Dec 31 to allow Malaki to save face. On Jan 1, we will step back across the border as “advisors”. Why would you deploy troops to Iraq if they have to be out in less than 6 months? These liars know what they are doing, they just think we are too stupid to know they are lying to us.
Google “Enduring Bases”. This is a State Dept scam to keep their precious jobs and positions.
That may be difficult. Prior to my departure this past January, most of my network were preparing to depart Anbar. They also told me that many others in hte province were preparing their go-to-hell-plans.
Barry and his handlers don’t care about any of that. They just doesn’t want a melt down in Iraq right before the election.
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