Iraqis Concerned As US Ends Combat Role
Posted August 31, 2010 12:01 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
The war George W. Bush began seven years ago to find Iraq’s perceived weapons of mass destruction is over.
There were no weapons, of course, but U.S. troops kept up their combat operations as Iraq’s security deteriorated and violence intensified.
Nearly 170,000 troops were in Iraq in 2007 at the height of the conflict. Now fewer than 50,000 remain and will only train and assist Iraqi forces.
Many Iraqis worry that without the American soldiers or a clear leader, their country will revert to a dictatorship or split along religious and ethnic lines. Others believe Iran will step in to fill the power vacuum.
No clear winner emerged from the parliamentary elections in March and U.S. Vice President Joe Biden encouraged Iraqi leaders, including Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, to end the deadlock. Biden presided over the symbolic proceedings on Tuesday.
President Barack Obama promised Americans he would end their country’s combat mission although the move is not part of the security agreement between Iraq and the U.S. Under that pact, all American troops were to be out of Iraq by the end of 2011.
Al-Malaki has promised a full withdrawal of American troops next year.
