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Petraeus: There's a Timeline For Transferring Iraq to the Iraqis
Here's a surprise: Gen. Petraeus told Rep. Gene Taylor (D-MS) that his command and the Maliki government have a standing committee to work out timetables for transferring control of Iraqi provinces to the Iraqis. Those timetables are apparently classified, but Petraeus said he'd get them to the House Armed Services Committee.
It would be interesting to know how the timetable for turning over Iraqi provinces corresponds to Gen. Petraeus' cautious recommendations on troop withdrawals. He said that the timetables can slip, owing to circumstances -- Diyala will take longer, owing to the infusion of insurgents to Baquba since the surge; Anbar will be turned over in January 2008 -- which is fair enough.
But does Petraeus envision a departure of forces from a province back to the U.S., or a reassignment of forces to a different one? Or will U.S. forces simply remain in some provinces in support roles? After all, at some point, all 18 provinces will be turned over. What will happen to U.S. forces then? Or will certain provinces -- say, Baghdad, which is its own province -- not be turned over in any foreseeable time frame?
Also, if Petraeus can say openly that Anbar can be handed over in January 2008, why should the rest of the timetables be classified?
Comments (3)
1oldlady wrote on September 10, 2007 5:34 PM:-regardless of how much money the US gives to Iraq and/or to the military...
and
-regardless of how long we stay .....
Our military leaders keep needing more money and body's and keep trying to refocus our attention that ...
WE ARE GOING TO BE THERE FOR A VERY-VERY-VERY LONG TIME!
There is no more money...
There are no more human bodies...
and
There is no more time!
What are our politician's going to do, but keep things just the way they are!?
One question that I have not heard is: What happen to the contractors that are doing what our military is doing? And are you (military)working side by side with these contractors and if so, who are they?
drv wrote on September 10, 2007 9:33 PM:"Also, if Petraeus can say openly that Anbar can be handed over in January 2008, why should the rest of the timetables be classified?"
Additionally, didn't he just unilaterally de-classify information to make a political point? If it's classified, how could he legally divulge the Jan. 2008 date? Will Bush call for an investigation?
d
Robust Decay wrote on September 11, 2007 5:04 AM:We are not leaving Iraq. When people say they want to pull troops out of Iraq, they ean pulling most of the troops out of Iraq. Look at Germany. Look at South Korea. Look at the four huge, brand new bases in Iraq. Are we just going to give them to an unstable Iraqi government? No.
We are not leaving Iraq.