U.S. troops unlikely to resume combat duties in Iraq

"Once bitten....no, in this case "Twice Bitten Thrice Shy" (Iraq+Afgh) so naturally they will never resume/make same mistake again.

Now to get the last 50K out.

I think Iraq will want us out at the end of 2011. They will want us gone. < :-)

I wonder what they will do with the many permanent military bases they built in Iraq. Maybe they will be used by the massive number of "private contractors".

U.S. involvement in Iraq beyond the end of 2011, Odierno said, probably would involve assisting the Iraqis secure their airspace and borders.

They're using the same excuse here in Japan. I guess this means US troops will never leave Iraq.

And what exactly was the price tag for this little fling?

medievaltimes - oh - it runs into trillions - it would have been enough to significantly raise the life quality for a big proportion of the USA population - something to think about before starting the next one...

"And what exactly was the price tag for this little fling?"

It's funny to see the rabid right froth at the mouth at President Obama "socialist" policies, yet every last one of them defended the Iraq debacle to the bitter end. Even when 8.7 billion dollars were un-accounted for, it didn't raise an eyebrow.

Fueling that instability is neighboring Iran which, Odierno said, continues to fund and train Shiite extremist groups.

Just imagine if Iran invaded Mexico. You think Americans would just sit there and continue to watch TV unmoved? No, they'd seek to influence the situation in their own best interest. As is Iran with Iraq. Good enough for the USA, then good enough for Iran.

Myth 1. As of this month, the United States no longer has combat troops in Iraq.

Not even close.

Myth 2. Thanks to the troop "surge," Iraq is secure enough that it will not fall back into civil war as U.S. forces pull out.

Security in Iraq has improved enormously since the darkest days of 2005-2006, but the jury is still out on what will happen in the months and years ahead.

Myth 3. The United States is leaving behind a broken political system.

If some on the right want to claim (incorrectly) that the surge stabilized Iraq to the point that civil war is impossible, their counterparts on the left try to insist (equally incorrectly) that the change in U.S. tactics and strategy in 2007-2008 had no impact on Iraq's politics whatsoever.

Myth 4. Iraqis want U.S. troops to stay. Or they want them leave.

Be very, very careful with Iraqi public opinion.

Myth 5. The war will end "on schedule." Much as we should want the Obama administration to succeed in Iraq, this statement by the president in a speech to veterans this month should make us wary. If uttered in the first act of a Greek tragedy, it is exactly the kind of claim that would end in a Sophoclean fall.

Courtesy of Sunday's Washington Post. Worth a read.

It's funny to see the rabid right froth at the mouth at President Obama "socialist" policies, yet every last one of them defended the Iraq debacle to the bitter end. Even when 8.7 billion dollars were un-accounted for, it didn't raise an eyebrow.

Well...we're not talking about America's best and brightest. Just the opposite actually.

Taka

"Well... we're not talking about America's best and brightest. Just the opposite actually."

So, according to Taka313, only America's worst and dumbest supported the liberation of Iraq.

Well to go that far would be un-fair in light of the fear-mongering by the Bush administration and a complacent media. The dregs that remain in Denial however.....

Heh, one of these individuals recently asserted the the "US had never imposed its will on Iraq". I don't thing either "worst" or "dumbest" is quite strong enough to describe that kind of behaviour. It's clearly a mental health issue....