US to Withdraw from Iraq by December

The US is scheduled to remove all its combat and training troops from Iraq by the end of December as agreed back in 2008. No new agreement has been reached with the Iraqi government to allow them to stay longer. The US is preparing to remove all except for about 160 troops who will stay to guard the new US embassy in Baghdad.

There are currently 40,000 US troops on the ground in Iraq. All other countries have removed their troops, including the UK.

The Iraqi government could ask the US to stay longer, but it's currently divided on the issue and apparently no further action is likely.

Can this finally be the end of the Iraq war in just a couple more months???

We can only hope!

However I have a feeling that US priorities have shifted enough to other areas, such as Syria and Libya, that Iraq is a minor issue anymore. Although there is a good possibility the US might still engage Iran before it leaves Iraq. There is still time, and there are those pushing for action after the alleged assassination plot against the Saudi ambassador.

Once the US leaves Iraq, it might find it much more difficult to attack Iran from that flank. Although if the US still occupied all those bases, they would be sitting ducks for reprisals by Iraqis under Iranian control/influence. Also Iran's latest missile technology can probably penetrate any defenses those Iraqi bases have, so why stay?

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/10/15/iraq-withdrawal-us-troops_n_1012661.html

 

Facts about the War in Iraq!
Source: http://usliberals.about.com/od/homelandsecurit1/a/IraqNumbers.htm

And when the war started they predicted it would be quick and cheap (less than $40 billion). Now it's up to nearly a Trillion dollars and what have we accomplished?

U.S. SPENDING IN IRAQ
Spent & Approved War-Spending - About $900 billion of US taxpayers' funds spent or approved for spending through November 2010.
Lost & Unaccounted for in Iraq - $9 billion of US taxpayers' money and $549.7 milion in spare parts shipped in 2004 to US contractors. Also, per ABC News, 190,000 guns, including 110,000 AK-47 rifles.
Lost and Reported Stolen - $6.6 billion of U.S. taxpayers' money earmarked for Iraq reconstruction, reported on June 14, 2011 by Special inspector general for Iraq reconstruction Stuart Bowen who called it "the largest theft of funds in national history." (Source - CBS News) Last known holder of the $6.6 billion lost: the U.S. government.
Missing - $1 billion in tractor trailers, tank recovery vehicles, machine guns, rocket-propelled grenades and other equipment and services provided to the Iraqi security forces. (Per CBS News on Dec 6, 2007.)
Mismanaged & Wasted in Iraq - $10 billion, per Feb 2007 Congressional hearings
Halliburton Overcharges Classified by the Pentagon as Unreasonable and Unsupported - $1.4 billion
Amount paid to KBR, a former Halliburton division, to supply U.S. military in Iraq with food, fuel, housing and other items - $20 billion
Portion of the $20 billion paid to KBR that Pentagon auditors deem "questionable or supportable" - $3.2 billion
U.S. Annual Air-Conditioning Cost in Iraq and Afghanistan - $20.2 billion (Source - NPR, June 25, 2011)
U.S. 2009 Monthly Spending in Iraq - $7.3 billion as of Oct 2009
U.S. 2008 Monthly Spending in Iraq - $12 billion
U.S. Spending per Second - $5,000 in 2008 (per Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid on May 5, 2008)
Cost of deploying one U.S. soldier for one year in Iraq - $390,000
TROOPS IN IRAQ
Troops in Iraq - Total 40,000 U.S. troops. All other nations have withdrawn their troops.
U.S. Troop Casualties - 4,481 US troops; 98% male. 91% non-officers; 82% active duty, 11% National Guard; 74% Caucasian, 9% African-American, 11% Latino. 19% killed by non-hostile causes. 54% of US casualties were under 25 years old. 72% were from the US Army
Non-U.S. Troop Casualties - Total 316, with 179 from the UK
US Troops Wounded - 32,195, 20% of which are serious brain or spinal injuries. (Total excludes psychological injuries.)
US Troops with Serious Mental Health Problems - 30% of US troops develop serious mental health problems within 3 to 4 months of returning home
US Military Helicopters Downed in Iraq - 75 total, at least 36 by enemy fire
IRAQI TROOPS, CIVILIANS & OTHERS IN IRAQ
Private Contractors in Iraq, Working in Support of US Army Troops - More than 180,000 in August 2007, per TheNation.com..
Journalists killed - 150, 98 by murder and 52 by acts of war
Journalists killed by US Forces - 14
Iraqi Police and Soldiers Killed - 10,125, as of July 31, 2011
Iraqi Civilians Killed, Estimated - On October 22, 2010, ABC News reported "a secret U.S. government tally that puts the Iraqi (civilian) death toll over 100,000," information that was included in more than 400,000 military documents released by Wikileaks.com.
A UN issued report dated Sept 20, 2006 stating that Iraqi civilian casualties have been significantly under-reported. Casualties are reported at 50,000 to over 100,000, but may be much higher. Some informed estimates place Iraqi civilian casualities at over 600,000.
Iraqi Insurgents Killed, Roughly Estimated - 55,000
Non-Iraqi Contractors and Civilian Workers Killed - 572
Non-Iraqi Kidnapped - 306, including 57 killed, 147 released, 4 escaped, 6 rescued and 89 status unknown.
Daily Insurgent Attacks, Feb 2004 - 14
Daily Insurgent Attacks, July 2005 - 70
Daily Insurgent Attacks, May 2007 - 163
Estimated Insurgency Strength, Nov 2003 - 15,000
Estimated Insurgency Strength, Oct 2006 - 20,000 - 30,000
Estimated Insurgency Strength, June 2007 - 70,000
QUALITY OF LIFE INDICATORS
Iraqis Displaced Inside Iraq, by Iraq War, as of May 2007 - 2,255,000
Iraqi Refugees in Syria & Jordan - 2.1 million to 2.25 million
Iraqi Unemployment Rate - 27 to 60%, where curfew not in effect
Consumer Price Inflation in 2006 - 50%
Iraqi Children Suffering from Chronic Malnutrition - 28% in June 2007 (Per CNN.com, July 30, 2007)
Percent of professionals who have left Iraq since 2003 - 40%
Iraqi Physicians Before 2003 Invasion - 34,000
Iraqi Physicians Who Have Left Iraq Since 2005 Invasion - 12,000
Iraqi Physicians Murdered Since 2003 Invasion - 2,000
Average Daily Hours Iraqi Homes Have Electricity - 1 to 2 hours, per Ryan Crocker, U.S. Ambassador to Iraq (Per Los Angeles Times, July 27, 2007)
Average Daily Hours Iraqi Homes Have Electricity - 10.9 in May 2007
Average Daily Hours Baghdad Homes Have Electricity - 5.6 in May 2007
Pre-War Daily Hours Baghdad Homes Have Electricity - 16 to 24
Number of Iraqi Homes Connected to Sewer Systems - 37%
Iraqis without access to adequate water supplies - 70% (Per CNN.com, July 30, 2007)
Water Treatment Plants Rehabilitated - 22%
RESULTS OF POLL Taken in Iraq in August 2005 by the British Ministry of Defense (Source: Brookings Institute)
Iraqis "strongly opposed to presence of coalition troops - 82%
Iraqis who believe Coalition forces are responsible for any improvement in security - less than 1%
Iraqis who feel less ecure because of the occupation - 67%
Iraqis who do not have confidence in multi-national forces - 72%

 

Yes, of course, they'll probably be redeployed to another theater of war, Afghanistan, Libya or the new Syrian front they're working to establish right now.

And yes they will HAVE to leave Iraq because the Iraqi gov't doesn't want them, the Iraqi people don't want them, and there are big threats against US interests should they stay behind after December by the Shiite majority.

IMO, they can't end this OCCUPATION of a sovereign nation soon enough!

Afghanistan should be next for full withdrawal.

 

What's happening is the US has hired even MORE contractors to do what the military was doing before. So it will cost us more, but hey, there won't be US "troops" on the ground. At least not officially!

It should be private contractors that defend the US oil interests in Iraq, and not the US military.

As far as the Iraqi gov't goes, they are a joke. They cannot even defend their own country cause the US refused to give them them weapons to do so. Like how big is the Iraqi air force today, I wonder...?