IRAQ: Pres Obama Was Forced To Withdraw Military Troops By End Of 2011 As Agreed Upon Because Iraqi Officials REFUSED To Give Our Troops LEGAL IMMUNITY If They Agreed To Pres Obama Request To Extend Their Stay Into Next Year!

CNN

Obama: Iraq war will be over by year's end; troops coming home

written by Staff

Saturday October 22, 2011

The current US-Iraq Status of Force Agreement had called for U.S. troops to leave by the end of 2011. But lengthy negotiations in recent months had led some to expect that American troops -- roughly 40,000 of which are in Iraq -- would remain there into next year.

These talks, however, broke down over the prickly issue of legal immunity for U.S. troops in Iraq, a senior U.S. military official with direct knowledge of the discussions told CNN this month.

U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta and other top brass have repeatedly said any deal to keep U.S. troops in Iraq beyond the withdrawal deadline would require a guarantee of legal protection for American soldiers.

But the Iraqis refused to agree to that, opening up the prospect of Americans being tried in Iraqi courts and subjected to Iraqi punishment.

The negotiations were strained following WikiLeaks' release of a diplomatic cable that alleged Iraqi civilians, including children, were killed in a 2006 raid by American troops rather than in an airstrike as the U.S. military initially reported. [<=== But all of you Obama lovers support Obama bombing the crap out of foreign nations that we are not at war with using unmanned drones and without congressional approval. (emphasis mine)]

U.S. troops have already started the drawdown. For instance, a brigade from Fort Bliss, Texas, that was originally scheduled to be among the last to leave Iraq was being pulled out of the country months ahead of its planned departure, military officials told CNN last week.

Besides withdrawing more units, others will not head overseas as planned. That includes about 775 Georgia-based soldiers from the Army's 3rd Infantry Division, which announced Friday it will not deploy to Iraq in December as previously scheduled.

Gen. Lloyd J. Austin III, commander of U.S. forces in Iraq, has said that Iraq wouldn't be able to defend its borders if U.S. troops pulled out and also questioned Iraqi forces ability to defend its airspace. But Panetta, en route to Indonesia, said history shows that Iraq will be ready.

"We've taken out now about 100,000 troops and yet the level of violence has remained relatively low," the defense secretary said. "And I think that's a reflection of the fact that the Iraqis have developed a very important capability here to be able to respond to security threats within their own country."

Regardless, officials insisted that the drastic pullback of troops does not mean an end to the U.S. government's presence in Iraq.

State Department spokesman Mark Toner described Friday's development as the start of "a new chapter in our relationship" with Iraq -- while acknowledging the challenges of the change.

"You can't flip a switch and go from a military operation to a civilian operation; there has to be a transition and we're working on that transition," he said. "But we believe we're ready."

Toner also noted substantial improvements in the capabilities of the Iraqis, even as he admitted the continued importance of addressing "security needs" of the hundreds of nonmilitary U.S. personnel who will remain there.

That includes about 1,700 diplomats, law enforcement officers and various economic, agriculture and other professionals and experts who will be in Iraq into 2012, according to the State Department. In addition, 5,000 security contractors will protect the U.S. diplomats and another 4,500 contractors will serve other roles, such as helping provide food and medical services, until they can be done locally.

Toner said the U.S. and Iraqi governments are still talking about security and other matters, though he stressed any such discussions should not change the basic decision announced Friday.

"We continue to talk about the post-December 31 arrangement (and) security relationship," Toner said. "At the same time, we are very committed to meeting the December 31 deadline."

Panetta, too, did not rule out the possibility that U.S. forces would head to Iraq to train forces there.

"As we ... look at developing this normal relationship, a lot of it is going to depend on what they want, what their needs are and how we can best meet them," he said.