Some U.S. forces could remain in Iraq after withdrawal date – Odierno

BAGHDAD /Iraqi News The top U.S. commander in Baghdad said some American combat forces could remain in Iraq after this summer’s planned withdrawal date if the country’s feuding leaders are unable to quickly form a new government, according to Wall Street Journal. The comment from Army Gen. Ray Odierno is one of the clearest indications yet of how closely senior U.S. officials will be watching Iraq‘s national elections next month for signs of whether the country will be capable of governing itself-and maintaining its current level of security-once American forces head for the exits. “Under terms of Washington’s security pact with Baghdad, U.S. troop levels in Iraq are supposed to fall to 50,000 by the end of August as the overall American mission shifts from direct combat to supporting Iraqi security forces. The remaining U.S. forces are supposed to leave Iraq by the end of 2011,” the newspaper said. Speaking at the Pentagon, Gen. Odierno said he expected all U.S. combat forces to leave Iraq by Sept. 1, reducing American troop levels-already at their lowest point since the start of the war in March 2003-to 50,000. He said the continuing withdrawal was ahead of schedule, as initial plans had estimated there would be 115,000 U.S. troops left in Iraq now instead of the current 96,000. Still, Gen. Odierno he said, Iraq‘s uncertain political future meant the next phase of the drawdown could proceed more slowly than initially planned. The commander said he had prepared contingency plans that would leave some combat troops in Iraq past Sept. 1 if the country faced serious political unrest or widespread violence after the vote. “I have contingency plans that I’ve briefed to the chain of command this week that we could execute if we run into problems,” Gen. Odierno said. “We’re prepared to execute those.” The commander said he would consider slowing the withdrawal “if something happens” in Iraq over the next two to three months. He said he would pay particular attention to how long it took Iraq‘s political leaders to assemble a new coalition government after the March 7 balloting and to whether the political maneuvering was accompanied by any new violence. “Iraq‘s Previous elections have been marred by significant numbers of attacks and months of political instability as the country’s leaders haggled over cabinet slots,” the newspaper said. “This time, U.S. officials say they are cautiously optimistic that the balloting will go smoothly. Iraq‘s overall level of violence has fallen dramatically from its highs in 2006 and 2007, and its security forces operate independently in many parts of the country,” it added. “With Americans forces playing exclusively a supporting role, the U.S. has had only a single combat fatality there in the past three months,” it noted Gen. Odierno said he had seen no indications of an uptick in Iraq‘s sectarian violence, which had brought the country Iraq to the brink of civil war in the years before the U.S. troop surge. “What this has all reminded us, as we’ve moved closer towards the elections, is that Iraq is still fragile,” he said.” It’s politically fragile.” SH (I) 1