The U.S. may really be leaving Iraq
Yochi Dreazen reports that the U.S. pull down is for real and is being driven by an Iraqi desire to see U.S. forces leave:
â??The message weâ??re getting, to be frank about it, is, â??Donâ??t let the door hit you on the way out,â??â? a senior military official said in a conversation on Sunday.U.S. officials publicly insist that Washington is continuing to discuss a possible troop extension with Baghdad, and it's possible â?? though highly unlikely at this late date â?? that a deal will be cobbled together to allow several thousand American troops to remain in Iraq past the end of the year.
Privately, though, U.S. military officials with direct knowledge of the informal negotiations, who asked not to be identified because of the sensitivity of the matter, say the two sides have never been close to an agreement and that the talks have effectively broken off in recent days. Two officials said in separate interviews this weekend that the most recent sticking point had been Iraqâ??s insistence that any remaining U.S. troops receive no legal immunity from Iraqi courts -- an absolute non-starter for Pentagon officials concerned about the possibility American soldiers could be arrested and put on trial in Iraq.
Donald Rumsfeld took a lot of heat over the handling of the U.S. occupation of Iraq but he did hit on one important insight that was never really internalized by his administration: American forces are "antibodies" on foreign soil. They are welcome on a utilitarian basis - to protect one faction or sect against another - but outside of those functions, there doesn't appear to be a genuine enthusiasm for a prolonged U.S. military presence by Iraq's Arab population (the Kurds are a different story).
