Radio France Internationale – Analysis US Troop Withdrawal from Iraq
RFI: The White House has just revealed details about an accord to withdraw US troops from Iraq by the year 2011.
This information was released by an Iraqi negotiator who revealed the two countries had advanced negotiations including a clause that withdrawal would be accelerated, This is conditioned upon the posture of the next president of the United States, which will be determined at the voting box this fall. Grant Smith, director of the Institute for Research: Middle Eastern Policy based in Washington DC with this analysis:
Grant Smith: Iraq’s Maliki has always expressed a desire to define a US troop withdrawal. From the standpoint of Republicans, news of a definitive US troop withdrawal is good news for their efforts to retake the White House in fall. According to recent polls, a majority of American voters want the troops out. What needs to be examined with care are residual forces, and US military capabilities and how they might continue to be situated in “super bases” that are scattered throughout Iraq. On the Democratic side, Obama’s main policy until now has been withdrawing from Iraq to resituate US forces in Afghanistan. Both candidates campaign within the so-called “War on Terror” issue framework. If the troop withdrawal is real, this means Obama’s and McCain’s major Middle East policy strategies, if not tactics, are now essentially identical.
The question as to whether withdrawal is simply a campaign-driven public relations effort or a bilateral agreement that will be enforced and verified is open. We believe this is simply campaign driven rhetoric. [Editor’s Note: in past news media appearances, IRmep has predicted that US troops will be stationed in Iraq for the next three decades] Update Draft US-Iraq Status of Forces Agreement [PDF]