Two U.S. Army Stryker infantry carrier vehicles drive into a C-5 Galaxy aircraft at Joint Base Balad, Iraq, on June 25, 2008. The C-5 has a "kneeling" landing gear system that permits lowering of the parked aircraft so the cargo floor is at truck-bed height or to facilitate vehicle loading and unloading. DoD photo by Senior Airman Julianne Showalter, U.S. Air Force. (Released)From Time:
The Pentagon, after pushing for nearly a year for new rules governing the presence of U.S. troops in Iraq, is already back-pedaling. On the one hand, the agreement between the Bush Administration and the Iraqi cabinet — which still requires a potentially contentious vote of approval by the Iraqi parliament — simply codifies a U.S. redeployment already in the making. But the agreement's hard deadline for the removal of all U.S. troops by the end of 2011 represent a significant retreat for a Bush Administration that has long opposed setting a timetable for withdrawal. And it also poses a challenge for the U.S. military. Despite the agreement on a timetable for withdrawal, Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Admiral Mike Mullen, on Monday stressed he still wants U.S. troops withdrawn only when security conditions warrant it.
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My Comment: It appears that the Pentagon is very concern that the Iraqi Army will not be able to sustain the peace when the U.S. is gone. They are probably right.