U.S. Expects Troops in Iraq for Years

[leftchick]

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20040220/ap_on_re_mi_ea/us_iraq_military&cid=540&ncid=716

<Snip>
Senior Pentagon (news - web sites) officials said Thursday they were confident that the Iraqis, once given political control, would agree U.S. troops should stay. But some outside the government question whether that would hold true once an elected Iraqi government took over.

Anthony Cordesman, a close observer of the Iraq situation as a strategist at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said that if political control was turned over on July 1 to an Iraqi body that is not elected, it likely would align itself with U.S. objectives and therefore welcome a continued U.S. military presence. But once elections were held, the U.S. role would be in doubt, he said.

If the new Iraqi government decided it wanted American forces to leave, "We would certainly be obligated to leave, under international law," Cordesman said.

Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld's chief spokesman, Larry Di Rita, told reporters at the Pentagon that there is a "fairly confident belief" that most Iraqis accept the U.S. view that American troops will be needed over the long haul to ensure a stable transition to democracy.

[absolutezero]

1. and chimpy's poll numbers

keep falling.....

[Rebel_with_a_cause]

2. I see lots more unaccompanied tours on the horizon

good luck with army recruitments, especially after the pullout of Germany and reenactment of cuts to military benefits stateside.

[dbt]

3. Sounding more like Viet Nam every day!

An Iraqi body that's NOT elected is ikely to align itself with US objectives, but an ELECTED body (ie, will of the people) might not want us there?

Sound familiar, 60s Kids?

:freak:
dbt

[hang a left]

4. Now they are concerned about international law. What gives?

If the new Iraqi government decided it wanted American forces to leave, "We would certainly be obligated to leave, under international law," Cordesman said.

[Mari333]

5. Families go crazy waiting for years.

when my stepson said "a year" I knew it would be longer.
Bring the kids home now.
http://www.bringthemhomenow.com