As of today, President Bush says U.S. troops will stay in Iraq unless it’s government asks us to leave.
“I know there’s a lot of speculation that these reports in Washington mean there’s going to be some kind of graceful exit out of Iraq,” Mr. Bush said during a joint news conference in Amman with Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki, referring to the final report by the Iraq Study Group that is expected next week. “We’re going to stay in Iraq to get the job done so long as the government wants us there.”
Hmmm…does this mean that if the Iraqi government asked us to leave, as early as tomorrow, we’d go with no questions asked? What about completing the mission? Do we have the same mission as the Iraqis?
And about the formation of that great new democracy in the middle east? It’s still the goal, but this much is clear. The U.S. won’t keep troops in the country until its brand of democracy is established. That idea has proven itself to be nothing more than a huge political hot potato. For now, it seems that talk is off the table.
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