Negotiators for the U.S. and Iraq have finally come to an agreement on the disposition of American forces in Iraq. The new security deal will require U.S. forces to leave Iraq cities and towns by next summer as a prelude to a complete withdrawal by 2011. In the meantime, the U.S. troops will reside in bases outside the populated areas it vacated. President Bush is expected to accept the agreement, but it still needs to pass through several layers of Iraqi bureaucracy , so who knows?
Although, I don’t think Bush is really too happy with the concessions he’s had to make, I’m looking forward to a U.S. drawdown. However, I would have liked to see a SOFA agreement and the permanent stationing of U.S. forces in Iraq, a goal I think the President was shooting for, too. Still, Iraq is a a sovereign state and can (and should) manage its own affairs. If they want us to leave, we should. I’m interested to see what happens in the areas we vacate. As we exit and larger areas are left to Iraqi control, will we see the terrorists move back in? Will we see Iran attempt to achieve control by fueling a new insurgency?
If things get tough for Iraq after America leaves, who are they gonna call for help?
Tags: Iraq, Middle East, timeline, United States, withdrawl
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August 22, 2008 at 5:10 pm
Eric
This is what I was afraid of, Jos. I envision the terrorists/insurgents playing a waiting game. When the US leaves Iraq, they will move back in and take over. The Iraq military will back down after a few losses and we will be back where we started from.