An official of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (L) and a U.S. soldier look at the Iran side through their telescopes from the Iraq side at the Iraq-Iran Muntheria Border, near the city of Khanaqin northeast of Baghdad November 17, 2008. U.S. and Iraqi forces say they are ratcheting up policing of Iraq's frontiers to stem the flow of militants and weapons, taking advantage of security gains across the country. Photo taken November 17, 2008. To match feature IRAQ/IRAN BORDER REUTERS/Erik de Castro (IRAQ)From Yahoo News/McClatchy Newspapers:
WASHINGTON — Although the Pentagon officially has welcomed the new accord on a U.S. troop withdrawal from Iraq , senior military officials are privately criticizing President Bush for giving Iraq more control over U.S. military operations for the next three years than the U.S. had ever contemplated.
Officials said U.S. negotiators had failed to understand how the two countries' political timetables would force the U.S. to make major concessions that relinquish much of the control over U.S. forces in Iraq . They said President Bush gave in to Iraqi demands to avoid leaving the decisions to his successor, Barack Obama .
At times, " President Bush wanted this deal more than the Iraqis did," said a senior administration official who closely monitored the negotiations.
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My Comment: This is very troublesome. But fortunately .... the violence and warfare is on a downward spiral to the point where it is not an issue anymore for the U.S. forces.