Iraq Withdrawals Update

Here is a question I had following the announcement the Britain was withdrawing troops: If the situation is so good that the Brits and the Danes can withdraw, why can't Americans come home?

The answer I got back from a source who wishes to remain anonymous:

The South has always been more stable relative to other parts of the country, and that's where British forces have been responsible. The fact that the British may be able to pull some troops is a reflection of the coalition's commitment to let the Iraqis take the lead and to stand down as they stand up. The British withdrawal is predicated on the security situation continuing to remain stable, which also reflects the US position.

The US has always been in the lead in the more dangerous areas (Baghdad because of the mix of ethnic and religious groups, and al Anbar because of disaffected Sunnis, lack of natural resources, and al Qaeda presence).

One more reason why the President's new strategy deserves a chance to succeed, and why we shouldn't go the direction of the "slow bleed" strategy to cut off the reinforcements our troops on the ground need to get the job done.

This is just one more sign that on the whole Iraq is doing better than the nightly news often portrays - the Iraqis still have a long way to go, but the situation is not hopeless.

I will agree that the situation in Iraq as a whole is better than what we're hearing about on the nightly news; but the question that I have is if more troops are the answer, why not move the Brits in to add to the forces we're bringing in?

I get the whole "as Iraqis stand up, we stand down" strategy... What's wrong with bringing Brits in when the Iraqis aren't standing up, say in Baghdad for example? We're bringing in more Americans...why not bring in some Brits too? Or Danes?

I don't have an answer for these questions...and I think we probably ought to start thinking about getting some answers.

UPDATE: Good to see that the State Department has no idea how to answer this question either... From today's briefing (received by email):

QUESTION:On Iraq. Do you have a list of countries that have indicated an interest in drawing down troops, countries that have made announcements over the past 24 hours?

MR. CASEY: I don't, George. I'm personally only aware of the statements that have been made by the British and by the Danish Governments and we talked a little bit about those this morning and you heard from the Secretary on that. I do think, though, that the broader point is that we see what the British are doing in terms of their rearrangement of their forces, and the Danes have been part of their operating area, as indicative of some of the success that's actually been achieved in terms of handing over areas of control, in this case in the south, to the Government of Iraq. And it's important that that process go forward. It's certainly the process that we want to see happen throughout the country.

Obviously, as you know, the situation in Baghdad is very different from what's occurring in most of the south and part of the intense need to secure Baghdad right now is the reason behind the plan that General Petraeus is in the process of implementing along with Iraqi forces to strengthen the government's hand in that city and be able to provide security for the people.

QUESTION: Well, I think, Lithuania also has made an announcement.

MR. CASEY: Oh, okay. I hadn't seen anything formally from them. I understand they operate in the British sector as well so I think, again, it's part of this same process. But as you heard the Secretary say earlier today in her press avail with Foreign Minister Steinmeier, we believe the coalition in Iraq is strong. We certainly don't see any flagging of international support for efforts in Iraq. And again, I think you've also seen that we are continuing to work with the government of Prime Minister Maliki to, in fact, expand international support, including through the Compact and including through other efforts to help further the political and economic process in the country as well as through security arrangements.

QUESTION: Would you have liked to have seen the British -- although I'm well aware that their activities have been in the south, would you have liked to have seen them offer troops to help out in the surge in Baghdad?

MR. CASEY: Well, look, I'm certainly not in a position to talk about the individual military movements or the planning within MNFI, and I'll leave that to General Petreaus and his guys to talk about. Certainly though, we very much appreciate the strong support that we have received throughout this process and throughout the conflict in Iraq on the part of the British Government.

The British are going to remain a very strong presence and a very strong member of the coalition and are going to be handling some very significant responsibilities even as they are able to draw down some forces because of this handover. So I don't think there's any question that the British are playing a full role and are fully committed to this effort.

Yeah...we really need to start thinking about how we're going to answer this question...