We have heard all the crazed chest thumping about the troops that Iraqis are calling to leave…..Trump and his boys have said that they would not take troops out of Iraq……and I wrote about it recently…..https://lobotero.com/2019/10/24/iraq-ya-gotta-go/
And yet they have offered to take some troops out…..
In January, the Iraqi parliament voted 170-0 for the government to seek a full pullout of all foreign troops. President Trump reacted with threats, and while Iraq’s former PM had backed away, the matter of US presence is still an issue. But weeks later, things may be changing.
Over the past week, the Pentagon has talked with senior Iraqi officials, telling them they are prepared to discuss withdrawal in some form. The US has even offered a plan for a partial pullback of troops from some parts of Iraq.
The position right now is that the US is willing to leave certain Shi’ite majority areas, and cut down the number of troops in Baghdad. The US had ruled out leaving Ayn al-Assad air base, calling that a “red line.”
That is a major shift, as previously the US position was that they would not consider any specific cuts, and rather would engage in wholesale renegotiation of all US-Iraqi ties going forward.(antiwar.com)
It appears that it is only a good idea when it is his, Trump, idea…….
This is typical of the Trump policies….knee jerk reactions nothing substantial…..
Do not get me wrong…..any reduction of our forces anywhere in the world is an excellent idea…..this is talking about the process not the idea…..
I Read, I Write, You Know
“lego ergo scribo”
For clarification however, the parliamentary vote was non-binding, since PM Mahdi was in caretaker status. It was merely a message from the (Iranian aligned) Shi’a majority in the CoR.
I know I had written on it before…..my point is that the response to the vote was NO WAY….and now there is a chance that it may happen….just pointing out this stuff…..chuq
This is typical of the Trump policies….knee jerk reactions nothing substantial…..
Why is it a knee jerk reaction ? Seems well planned to me. Leaving Afghanistan and Iraq eventually has always been the end goal but conditions and incidents require a remaining presence. Partial pull out placates some Iraqis but we remain when things get hot and they reverse and ask us to stay to protect them.
Plus it will play well with the voter…and there is the main cause of the possible decision. chuq
Pings much appreciated chuq
Leaving some troops, and still occupying an airbase? That’s not exactly what the Iraqi government asked for is it? In which case, that makes US presence there ‘occupation by intimidation. Iraq should go to the UN, and complain. (Like they would care,,,)
Best wishes, Pete.
The US would not comply even if they did….chuq