Iraq wins independence as US ends combat role - Prime Minister Maliki

Reuters ^ | 08/31/2010 | Serena Chaudhry and Rania El Gamal

[SeekAndFind]

* 50,000 U.S. soldiers are staying on

* Iraq now stands as equal to United States - Maliki

* Biden in Baghdad to press leaders to form government

BAGHDAD, Aug 31 (Reuters) - Iraq's prime minister said the end of U.S. combat operations on Tuesday restored Iraq's sovereignty and meant it stood as an equal to the United States, despite political deadlock and persistent violence.

U.S. troop levels were cut to 50,000 before the partly symbolic deadline of Aug. 31 set by President Barack Obama to fulfil his pledge to end the war launched by his predecessor George W. Bush.

The six remaining U.S. brigades will turn their focus to training Iraqi police and troops as Iraq takes charge of its own destiny ahead of a full U.S. withdrawal by the end of next year.

"Iraq today is sovereign and independent," Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki told Iraqis in a televised address to mark the U.S. forces' shift to assisting rather than leading the fight against a Sunni Islamist insurgency and Shi'ite militia.

"With the execution of the troop pullout, our relations with the United States have entered a new stage between two equal, sovereign countries."

[SeekAndFind]

So, when is their equivalent of our July 4 ?

[Nervous Tick]

Iraqis “won independence” my rear.

They were gifted independence at great cost to US.

What’s more, they’ll squander it in a matter of months.

[frankenMonkey]

In honor of the 50,000 combat soldiers still in Iraq.

[elpadre]

Remember that President Bush said from the beginning, in refusing to give a departure day certain, that American troops would stand down when the Iraqi troops could stand up. Hopefully, this is now true!!

[SeekAndFind]

RE: What’s more, they’ll squander it in a matter of months.

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Well, this article observe that :

* Violence has declined sharply since the peak in 2006/07 of the sectarian slaughter unleashed by the invasion, but a recent series of attacks has rung alarm bells.

* The animosity that led to carnage between majority Shi’ites and once dominant Sunnis has not healed, and a potentially explosive dispute between Arabs and Kurds has not been resolved.

* More than 1.5 million Iraqis are still displaced after being driven from their homes by violence. Many live in squalor.

* The recent elections which many hoped would heal sectarian rifts could instead, widen ethnic and sectarian rifts if the actual vote leader, ex-premier Iyad Allawi’s Sunni-backed cross-sectarian Iraqiya alliance, is excluded from power by the major Shi’ite-led political factions.

* Suspected Sunni Islamist insurgents linked to al Qaeda have tried to exploit the political vacuum and declining U.S. troop numbers with suicide bombings and assassinations ( that’s what you get for dealing your hand to the enemy ).

* Shi’ite Iran will seek to fill any vacuum left by the U.S. military, in competition with Sunni-led neighbours such as Turkey and Saudi Arabia.

In other words — IRAQ is still on a knife’s edge.

[silverleaf]

AGREE

[silverleaf]

AGREE

[GoCards]

I cant stand even the thought of bama having anything to do with our military. It makes me crazy. I wont watch, sorry.

[krb]

Iraq wins independence

Haha, yeah, they "won" independence, just like I won my Christmas presents.

[Opinionated Blowhard]

Obama promised war-weary U.S. voters he would extricate the United States from the war, launched by Bush with the stated aim of destroying Iraqi weapons of mass destruction. No such weapons were found. Almost a trillion dollars have been spent and more than 4,400 U.S. soldiers and over 100,000 Iraqi civilians killed since the 2003 invasion.

Gotta love that Reuters bias.

[mcshot]

True, The warring tribes and sects are now better trained and armed and a robust civil war with involvement by neighboring countries will commence soon.

[VanDeKoik]

We are out of Iraq like we are out of Korea.

[Cheetahcat]

Iraq was mismanaged from day one,why the Army was disbanded is beyond belief,then they were allowed to write a constitution with the Mohammad snake in it,we got paid for the last gulf war and should be pumping oil right now to cover the bill.

what we have here is a recipe for failure, a very expensive one and a gift for Iran.

[eclecticEel]

Of course, I expect Maliki to make optimistic statements in public - he has no choice there; but in private, he surely understands just how precarious his situation is.

[Sarajevo]

Maliki?

Who is Maliki?

Oh yeah, he's the guy who lost in the March 7 elections.

[SeekAndFind]

RE: Oh yeah, he’s the guy who lost in the March 7 elections.

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Well, that’s what the Iraqis are still trying to sort out today -— almost 6 months after the fact.

[mainsail that]

“What’s more, they’ll squander it in a matter of months.”

IIRC about 1 million were killed in their civil war post ‘liberation’, and my guess is that many more will follow. Iran is next door and are the Sunnis...er the Saudis.