Wrapping Up Iraq In 18 Months

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Iraqi PM-designate: U.S. could start pullout in 18 months

Monday, April 24, 2006

The Shiite Muslim politician tapped as Iraq's prime minister said Monday that he thinks U.S. troops could begin withdrawing in 18 months or less if his country's security forces get up to speed.

http://edition.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/meast/04/24/iraq.almaliki/index.html

start the 18 month clock . . . again?


Jan 30, 2005

Iraq won't need foreign troops in 18 months: interior minister

Flush with the successful voting in Sunday's elections, Iraq's interim interior minister said US and British troops would not be needed anymore in as soon as 18 months from now.

"I think we will not need the foreign forces in this country within 18 months," interim interior minister Falah al-Nakib told Britain's Channel 4 television.
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Feb. 3, 2005

Iraq Likely to Assume Full Security Role
Within 18 Months

Iraq's security forces are expected to be ready to assume full responsibility for their country's security in about 18 months, Iraq's minister of the interior told Pentagon reporters today via teleconference from Baghdad.
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March 28, 2005

Leader: Army May Secure Iraq in 18 Months

BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) - Iraq's outgoing interior minister predicted Monday that his country's emerging police and army may be capable of securing the nation in 18 months, saying his officers are beginning to take over from coalition forces. Insurgents, meanwhile, targeted Shiite pilgrims, setting off two blasts that killed at least three people.

http://www.wjla.com/headlines/0305/216618.html
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July 28, 2005

The top U.S. military leader in Iraq said Wednesday there could be substantial withdrawals of some of the 135,000 U.S. troops in the country as early as next spring.

Iraqi leaders have also said consistently that U.S. troops should leave as soon as the U.S.-trained Iraqi army is ready to fight the insurgency and defend the country, but have estimated that it could take from 18 months to five years.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/07/27/AR2005072700431_pf.html
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24-8-2005

The US is expected to pull significant numbers of troops out of Iraq in the next 12 months in spite of the continuing violence, according to the general responsible for near-term planning in the country.

Maj Gen Douglas Lute, director of operations at US Central Command, yesterday said the reductions were part of a push by Gen John Abizaid, commander of all US troops in the region, to put the burden of defending Iraq on Iraqi forces.

http://news.ft.com/cms/s/9f81fef2-14de-11da-9df1-00000e2511c8.html
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[rfranklin]

1. If we don't get the right person in the WH and change the Congress..

we will be hearing the same thing five years from now.

[stillcool]

2. Following.....

...its bombing of Iraq in 1991, the United States wound up with military bases in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, Oman and the United Arab Emirates.
Following its bombing of Yugoslavia in 1999, the United States wound up with military bases in Kosovo, Albania, Bulgaria, Macedonia, Hungary, Bosnia and Croatia.
Following its bombing of Afghanistan in 2001-2, the United States wound up with military bases in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Georgia, Yemen and Djibouti.
Following its bombing and invasion of Iraq in 2003, the United States wound up with Iraq.
This is not very subtle foreign policy. Certainly not covert. The men who run the American Empire are not easily embarrassed.
And that's the way the empire grows -- a base in every region, ready to be mobilized to put down any threat to imperial rule, real or imagined. Sixty years after World War II ended, the United States still has major bases in Germany and Japan; fifty-two years after the end of the Korean War, tens of thousands of American armed forces continue to be stationed in South Korea.

http://www.killinghope.org/

February 14, 2002: US Military Bases Line Afghan Pipeline Route
http://www.cooperativeresearch.org/timeline.jsp?timeline=complete_911_timeline&before_9/11=pipelinePolitics
The Israeli newspaper Ma’ariv notes: “If one looks at the map of the big American bases created , one is struck by the fact that they are completely identical to the route of the projected oil pipeline to the Indian Ocean.” Ma’ariv also states, “Osama bin Laden did not comprehend that his actions serve American interests... If I were a believer in conspiracy theory, I would think that bin Laden is an American agent. Not being one I can only wonder at the coincidence.”

[Buck Laser]

3. Yeah, but this time they REALLY mean it. /nt/