Not So Fast

13 July 2005



Baghdad’s PM Says American Withdrawal an “Iraqi Decision”

Iraq’s recently selected Prime Minister, Ibrahim Jaafari, told his country’s national assembly that “We want the [American troop] withdrawal decision to be an Iraqi decision with Iraqi timetable not with a terror timetable." He also said, “They will leave when it is decided there is no more need for foreign troops.” Don’t the Americans have a say in this?

US Deputy Secretary of State Robert Zoellick, said in a meeting with Mr. Jaafari, "US forces intend to continue to support Iraqi people and that we will stand down as the Iraqi forces stand up, and that means that the US connection will be based on the conditions by which the Iraqi forces are able to meet the effort to deal with the counter-insurgency." Once again, he conveniently avoided the entire issue of who decides.

The amazing thing about this situation is that both sides say they want the Americans to leave, just not now. "Any country in the world would not be honored with the presence of foreign forces on its ground," said Jaafari. And Mr. Bush has said, “We will stay in Iraq as long as we are needed and not a day longer.” So, taken at face value, it is only a matter of time.

Yet neither side is willing to accept the concept of a timeline, and quite rightly. When fighting a guerrilla war, the insurgents win everyday they get up and resist. All they have to do is endure, and they win. That is the nature of the struggle, just as blitzkrieg is about speed. Setting a time line merely gives them a target beyond which lies victory.

But who will decide when the Yanks can leave? And under what circumstances? “As long as needed” is pretty open ended. Is the leaked British memo that says there will be a draw down of forces next year accurate? Is Mr. Jaafari right when he says two years should be enough to stabilize the situation and allow the US and its allies to leave? Mr. Bush’s path out of the quagmire is to explain what needs to happen and how close the US and the Iraqi regime are to achieving those objectives. No timeline, but certainly benchmarks are needed. A Harvard MBA like Mr. Bush should know that.


© Copyright 2005 by The Kensington Review, J. Myhre, Editor. No part of this publication may be reproduced without written consent.
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