In Iraq, Little Pressure for Reforms

[RamboLiberal]

Source: AP

The debate in Washington over troop numbers is intense. But in Baghdad, there's been little sense of alarm or urgency among the Iraqi politicians who would have the most to lose if the United States decides to begin a major pull back.

Both Sunni and Shiite leaders have been largely convinced for weeks that President Bush would press to keep forces in Iraq until he turns the White House over to a successor.

That has set up one of the grand ironies of the troop build-up that began early this year.

Washington threw more personnel and firepower into Iraq to give the Iraqi leadership more room to settle disputes and adopt U.S.-backed reforms.

But the signals this week of just modest troop withdrawals ahead - perhaps back to pre-surge levels of about 130,000 - mean the Shiite-led government feels little pressure to accelerate work toward true political reconciliation.



Read more: http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/I/IRAQ_NO_PANIC?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2007-09-12-14-50-28

[Tempest]

1. Where's the incentive?

Reforms mean the U.S. troops leave sooner and the Iraqi politicians would lose their protection.