After eight bitter years, the Iraqis now say American troops should all leave THE United States can wait no longer. A year of cajoling by envoys, congressmen, ambassadors and generals in Baghdad, urging Iraq's government to make a decision, one way or another, on whether to keep American troops in the country after a security agreement expires at the end of this year, has come to nought. The 39,000 American service people still in Iraq will be "home for the holidays", declared Barack Obama on October 21st, fulfilling a campaign promise to end a war he never endorsed (see Lexington). The withdrawal will be sharply felt in Iraq. For the past two years, American soldiers have kept a low profile. They have stayed out of Iraq's cities but have worked closely with the Iraqi police and armed forces to combat a still-potent terror threat and to help keep the peace in the fractious northern area where Kurdish and Arab territories overlap. The American forces have also engaged in much more than just fighting. As well as advising on counter-insurgency tactics, they have helped with an array of non-military activities, from overseeing elections to preserving monuments and digging sewers. They habitually parley with Iraqi leaders, from tribal sheikhs to ministers in Baghdad, who will miss the Americans as mediators and as providers of manpower and resources.
展开▼
