McClatchy: Paltry result of Iraqi offensive quiets U.S. withdrawal talk

[laststeamtrain]

Paltry result of Iraqi offensive quiets U.S. withdrawal talk
Warren P. Strobel and Nancy A. Youssef | McClatchy Newspapers

last updated: April 02, 2008 12:24:46 PM

WASHINGTON — The Bush administration was caught off-guard by the first Iraqi-led military offensive since the fall of Saddam Hussein, a weeklong thrust in southern Iraq whose paltry results have silenced talk at the Pentagon of further U.S. troop withdrawals any time soon.

President Bush last week declared the offensive, which ended Sunday, "a defining moment" in Iraq's history.

That may prove to be true, but in recent days senior U.S. officials have backed away from the operation, which ended with Shiite militias still in place in Basra, Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki possibly weakened and a de facto cease-fire brokered by an Iranian general.

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http://www.mcclatchydc.com/iraq/story/32337.html

[Tempest]

1. If Bush is waiting for the Iraqi army to stand up

We're never leaving Iraq.