Iraq: forgotten and in trouble

[Merlin]

The US public would very much like to forget about Iraq. Is Iraq in troble?

Iraq: forgotten and in trouble?

Saturday's massive bomb in Kirkuk, combined with political gridlock, raises questions about how ready Iraq is for the withdrawal of US troops from cities by June 30.

23 June [CSMonitor] Washington - Fresh concerns about the US-Iraq relationship are rising as the draw-down of US forces approaches. A suicide bombing in Kirkuk Saturday was the deadliest in Iraq in more than a year. Meanwhile, the Iraqi government continues to fail to approve crucial laws for administering the country.

With the 133,000 US troops in the country set to be withdrawn from Iraqi cities by June 30, demands on the diplomatic relationship between the two countries will only grow, some Iraq specialists warn.

Going further still, some of them worry that Iraq will be neglected as the US turns its focus to Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Iran. If that happens, Iraq could slip back into instability and violence, reemerging as a top American security issue. ....

Harsh reminder of perilous security
Saturday's suicide truck bombing near the ethnically mixed northern city of Kirkuk, which killed 75 people, is a reminder of Iraq's continuing fragility. It is part of a recent uptick in violence that appears designed to try to rekindle sectarian tensions and includes bombings and other violence in Baghdad Monday that claimed 33 more lives.

The Iraqi government's failure to pass several important pieces of legislation also poses a threat to the country's political stability. They include:

•Approving a national oil law for an equitable distribution of the country's oil revenues.
•Finding a solution to Kirkuk's ethnically based territorial dispute.
•Passing legislation to help combat rampant corruption.

A key task for the US
The US must figure out how to continue to nudge Iraq to address issues of mutual concern, even as the US footprint lightens, some analysts say. ....

A less physically imposing but still robust American military and diplomatic presence should focus on developing "good governance" principles at all levels of the Iraqi government, says Mr. Nagl, author of a new report, "After the Fire: Shaping the US Relationship with Iraq." Moreover, the US must concentrate on building professionalism within the Iraqi military. ....

[Dreadnought]

Iraq's security will be in the hands of its own forces supported by US forces when need be necessary. Iraq's not being forgotten they are just letting them get along with their lives after seeing US forces for quite some time. Its their time now and time for our troops to move on and either to another hot spot such as Afghanistan or hopefully come home to the U.S. to a public and families that long to see them.

[Merlin]

Iraq's not being forgotten ...

Among the US public ?

[Dreadnought]

Among the US public ?

Nope, not so long as their friends,children,fathers,mothers,aunts and uncles are still far away from home and their families doing what is right by the Iraqi people.

Wont be forgotten until all of them come home.;)

[Merlin]

Already over the past few months in WAB, the comments on Iraq are few and far between.

Here is a good article from the Economist.

Security in Iraq: Is it getting worse again?

25 June As American troops prepare to leave all the towns, Iraqis are getting nervous
BARACK OBAMA’s administration has promised to withdraw all American troops from all of Iraq’s towns by the end of this month. As the deadline looms, people are again asking whether Iraq’s forces will be able to cope on their own. On cue, a fresh bout of violence has erupted. On June 20th, a huge lorry bomb exploded in Taza, a Turkmen town just south of the disputed city of Kirkuk, killing at least 70 people. Two days later at least seven bombs went off in and around Baghdad, including a roadside blast, a car bomb and a suicide attack, killing some 30 people altogether. And on June 24th another big bomb killed at least 70 people in Baghdad, perhaps the single deadliest attack in Iraq this year. The insurgents, knowing that the Americans are poised to pull out, are aiming to make Iraq as unstable as ever.

They have also staged some spectacular assassinations that have threatened to restart a cycle of sectarian reprisals. Earlier this month the head of the main Sunni bloc in parliament, Harith al-Obeidi, a noted campaigner for human rights, was gunned down by a teenager in a Baghdad mosque after he had led Friday prayers. In Mosul, the biggest city of the north, where the coach of Iraq’s karate team was recently shot dead, bombings are still going on, though at a reduced rate.

Yet, despite this nerve-racking spasm, the recorded figures suggest that the violence is still in retreat. Fewer civilians were killed in May than in any month since 2003. Both Iraqi and American officials had predicted a surge in attacks as the deadline for withdrawal neared.

The prime minister, Nuri al-Maliki, told Iraqis not to be dismayed by violence here and there. The country’s own forces, he insisted, could maintain security, as they already were. Besides, American tanks and armies were no use in what had become a counter-insurgency intelligence game, which the Iraqis were better equipped to play than were the Americans. ....

In fact American troops have already withdrawn from nearly all the towns—and have rarely been seen in them of late. Many joint American-Iraqi security posts have been dismantled. There will be no more routine American patrols, rare though they have already become. The Americans will, however, remain in bases nearby, on call in case Iraqi forces hit trouble. And in some places, especially in Mosul, where efforts to suppress the insurgency have been intensifying, the definition of city limits is being elastically interpreted, to let the main American base stay where it is, on the city’s edge.

But the Iraqis are slowly realising that Mr Obama really does intend to remove the bulk of his troops before 2011. So they may at last be starting to focus on passing long-delayed bits of important nation-building legislation, such as an oil-and-gas law, constitutional amendments, and even a law governing elections. Without a modicum of cohesion at the heart of government, how can Iraq’s security forces stick together in the face of sectarian or ethnic tension? Iraqis know that establishing a more cohesive and broader-based government is at least as important as beefing up the Iraqi security forces.

A crucial general election is due in January—and everybody knows that the Americans want to witness a peaceful poll leading to a stable government before they can withdraw completely. So there is a fresh ferment of political horse-trading and alliance-testing. Mr Maliki is trying to buff up his image as the strongman who can provide law and order. He is exploring the possibility of new ties across sectarian divisions as well as sounding out possible partners for a grand Shia coalition similar to the one that won last time. Even the “Bands of the Righteous”, an offshoot of the Shia militia movement led by a radical cleric, Muqtada al-Sadr, may want to take part in peaceful politics. As a gesture of goodwill, it released the bodies of two long-dead British hostages who had been kidnapped two years ago.

Yet, whether the Americans stay or leave, Iraq still suffers from its worst failing. There is still no party or leader that can reach across the country’s divisions and appeal to Iraqis of every ethnic and sectarian hue.

[Parihaka]

Iraq either stands on its own feet or remains forever a dependency of the United States.
As for WAB, the combat has moved from Iraq to Afghanistan and so therefor has the discussion: what do you expect for a military board?

[gunnut]

Iraq was getting better before Obama took over.

[Julie]

Iraq was getting better before Obama took over.

yup.

[Shey Tapani]

Nope, not so long as their friends,children,fathers,mothers,aunts and uncles are still far away from home and their families doing what is right by the Iraqi people.

Wont be forgotten until all of them come home.;)

I personally think considering the smaller role which the U.S. millitary has in the U.S. society now it could indeed be forgotten, but the cost of the war is not going to just dissapear.