An Iraqi soldier secures the area after a car bomb attack that reportedly killed three people in Baghdad on Tuesday Photo: AFP/GETTY IMAGES Iraqi Military Will Be Crippled Without New Security Deal, Warns General -- The Telegraph
A top US general has warned Iraq that its military would be crippled if foreign forces withdraw.
Senior American officer in Iraq, General Raymond Odierno, is believed to have presented its leaders with an inventory detailing the collapse of the Iraqi security services if forces were pulled back to barracks.
Iraq has demanded the renegotiation of a security agreement with America which would authorise continued US combat operations against terrorism until 2011.
A Baghdad cabinet meeting made changes in both wording and content of a proposed deal despite American officials saying the document, which is the outcome of months of tense talks, was final.
Behind the scenes angry confrontations have taken place over Baghdad's backtracking on the deal. All three Iraqi military services – army, navy and air force – remain crucially dependent US training and support.
Without an agreement America would cut off $6.3 billion (£4 billion) in bilateral aid and halt $10 billion (£6.4 billion) of military sales.
Washington cast doubt over intelligence sharing, the employment contracts of 200,000 Iraqis and the servicing of military vehicles.
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My Comment: The Iraqi politicians are being .... well politicians. But the consequence of an immediate withdrawal of American forces cannot be underestimated. It will take years before there is a functional and professional Iraqi Army. Therefore the Iraqi Government has one of two choices. (1) Ask the American forces to leave ASAP, and hope that sectarian differences do not blow up into a regional conflict. When I look at the Kurds, and the lack of trust between the Shia and Sunni communities .... I will have to surmise that this is still a danger. Or (2) make an arrangement with U.S. forces that maintains your independence .... but the American forces are just outside of town in case of emergency.
A rational man would say that option #2 is preferable, but Iraq has not been a predictable place in the past few years. An Obama administration will also change the dynamics significantly. He has made it very clear that he wants combat forces out of Iraq ASAP. As a result .... there is strong possibility that his first executive decision will be just that .... U.S. forces out of Iraq ASAP..... security arrangement or not.