Because they would be neither practical nor possible without the improvement in the security situation in that country brought by the Surge of a year ago.

The Bush administration is considering the withdrawal of additional combat forces from Iraq beginning in September, according to administration and military officials, raising the prospect of a far more ambitious plan than expected only months ago.

Such a withdrawal would be a striking reversal from the nadir of the war in 2006 and 2007.

* * *

Although no decision has been made, by the time President Bush leaves office on Jan. 20, at least one and as many as 3 of the 15 combat brigades now in Iraq could be withdrawn or at least scheduled for withdrawal, the officials said.

The desire to move more quickly reflects the view of many in the Pentagon who want to ease the strain on the military but also to free more troops for Afghanistan and potentially other missions.

And while that withdrawal would make it possible to draw down troops to next to nothing in the sixteen month time frame set by Barack Obama, it also demonstrates something else -- namely that the withdrawal is possible because of the success of the policies of the Bush Administration, not their failure.

Another sign of the improvement is this tidbit from the Maliki government.

The green zone of Baghdad, a highly fortified slice of American suburbia on the banks of the Tigris river, may soon be handed over to Iraqi control if the increasingly assertive government of Nouri al-Maliki, the prime minister, gets its way.

A senior Iraqi government official said this weekend the enclave should revert to Iraqi control by the end of the year. “We think that by the end of 2008 all the zones in Baghdad should be integrated into the city,” said Ali Dabbagh, the government’s spokesman.

“The American soldiers should be based in agreed camps outside the cities and population areas.

“By the end of the year, there will be no green zone,” he added. “The separation by huge walls makes people feel angry.” Dabbagh acknowledged that getting rid of the green zone would be a huge undertaking, given the thousands of American soldiers, private contractors and foreign workers who live inside. He said the concrete walls that divide it from the rest of the city would be taken down slowly, “depending on the threat and circumstances”.

Translation: Baghdad is sufficiently pacified and and the terrorists sufficiently crippled for the American-trained Iraqi forces to take over many of the duties that had formerly been handled by Americans -- and to eliminate some of the extreme security measures that had been necessary up to this time.

In other words -- we are winning.

Posted by: Greg at 01:58 AM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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