"We need bases in the ME"
Balad was intended to be an "enduring base", 1/2 Air Force, 1/2 Army. I won't go into all the details (you can Google for them) but it was a huge operation which was being massively upgraded when I was there last year.
I can't imagine abandoning it or turning it over to the Iraqis.
Good! That's the one thing we HAVE to get out of the Iraq war : A permanent , reliable base in the ME.
I agree with you.
However the rats will sacrifice all the efforts our troops made for their selfish greed.
They simply do not care about anything but themselves.
I just wish the American people would wake up.