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| Iraq |
| US drops keeping troops in Iraq |
| 2011-10-15 |
| The U.S. is abandoning plans to keep U.S. troops in Iraq past a year-end withdrawal deadline, The Associated Press has learned. The decision to pull out fully by January will effectively end more than eight years of U.S. involvement in the Iraq war, despite ongoing concerns about its security forces and the potential for instability. The decision ends months of hand-wringing by U.S. officials over whether to stick to a Dec. 31 withdrawal deadline that was set in 2008 or negotiate a new security agreement to ensure that gains made and more than 4,400 American military lives lost since March 2003 do not go to waste. In recent months, Washington has been discussing with Iraqi leaders the possibility of several thousand American troops remaining to continue training Iraqi security forces. A Pentagon spokesman said Saturday that no final decision has been reached about the U.S. training relationship with the Iraqi government. But a senior Obama administration official in Washington confirmed Saturday that all American troops will leave Iraq except for about 160 active-duty soldiers attached to the U.S. Embassy. A senior U.S. military official confirmed the departure and said the withdrawal could allow future but limited U.S. military training missions in Iraq if requested. |
| Posted by:tipper |
| #3 As per TOPIX/WORLD NEWS , the US deems Al-Qaeda + Iran-controled proxy MilTerr Groups as the biggest present + post-withdrawal threat to Iraq's domestic security while Iraq per se has repor formally rejected a Turkish proposal to deploy Iraqi troops at the borders to deter or contain the Kurdish Rebels. As things stand, US Advisors remaining in Iraq will have to contend wid > Kurdish Rebels, espec as influenced by the TURKEY-VS-IRAN COMPETITION FOR REGIONAL DOMINANCE. > Al-Qaeda = Affiliates + Sub-Groups. > PRO-IRAN MILTERR GROUPS, controlled or autonomous. Is it just me or is anyone else getting the feeling the US-NATO/Allied may have to go back into IRAQ during a de facto US-IRAN MIL CONFLICT? ----------- * WAFF > IRAQ WILL NOT SEND TROOPS TO THE BORDERS FOR THE SAKE OF TURKEY. * SAME > TURKISH EX-DIPLOMAT [ex-Diplom, MP Sukru Elekdag]: IRAN IS UNLIKELY TO JOIN A TURKISH-ISRAELI WAR. ARTIC > ELEKDAG = DE FACTO WAR BETWEEN TURKEY + ISRAEL IS UNLIKELY + IRRATIONAL; ISRAEL ONLY HAS SLIGHT ADVANTAGE OER TURKEY IN COMBAT TECHS + CONVENTIONAL CAPABILITIES; MUSLIM IRAN UNLIKELY TO SWITCH FROM STRATEGIC DEFENSIVE + ALLY WID MUSLIM TURKEY UNLESS ATTACKED BY THE US-ISRAEL. Even iff attacked by the US andor Israel, Iran may not ally wid Turkey due to fear of US mil dominance + Israeli-specific nuclear attack - ONE WAY OR ANOTHER, TURKEY LIKELY TO STAND ALL ALONE AGZ ISRAEL. |
| Posted by: JosephMendiola 2011-10-15 23:59 |
| #2 Sadly this was probably made by Obama more in mind with getting votes than bringing home troops. |
| Posted by: Charles 2011-10-15 20:04 |
| #1 Good. More point to teaching calculus to dogs. |
| Posted by: g(r)omgoru 2011-10-15 19:37 |