Signaling that a 'residual force' will stay longer in Iraq has encouraged foot-dragging

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. . . on the part of the Iraqi regime.

We had them believing that an immediate withdrawal was imminent and the Iraqis began to adjust their thinking and their priorities to meet that inevitable prospect, especially after the campaign and election of Barack Obama.

Now, after a month of promoting and confirming the plan to leave troops in Iraq beyond the date agreed to in the Status of Forces Agreement, the Iraqi government is back to claiming their own forces aren't ready to cut the U.S. military cord . . .

from UPI: http://www.upi.com/Top_News/2008/12/24/Iraqi_official_says_US_troop_deal_needed/UPI-45321230127861/

-- U.S. troops must remain in Iraq until Iraqi forces are fully capable to replace foreign forces, Iraqi Vice President Tariq al-Hashimi said Wednesday.

Hashimi, speaking with reporters before meeting with Syrian President Bashar Assad in Damascus, said the recently signed security agreement outlining terms of U.S. troop withdrawals from Iraq counters an anticipated security void if U.S. troops had ended their mission soon, the Kuwaiti news agency KUNA reported.

Iraq didn't have a choice but to accept the agreement, Hashimi said, adding that government officials hoped Iraqi forces would step up their capabilities before the U.S. pullout in three years.

I think that most folks looking on could be forgiven for thinking that state of forces agreement was something the Iraqi regime couldn't wait to sign, but, it's clear that the beleaguered, U.S.-enabled Iraqi government is never going to be completely secure without hiding behind the sacrifices of our own nation's defenders, safe in their privileged seats within the protection of the green zone.

From the NYT: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/24/opinion/24wed1.html?pagewanted=print

A new report by the United States Institute of Peace found that “as the threat of state collapse has receded, the risk of an increasingly repressive and authoritarian Iraqi regime has come to the fore.” Iraq’s governing parties still resist sharing power. The administration’s unconditional support for Mr. Maliki is fueling his nationalistic rhetoric and divisive policies.

Mr. Bush and President-elect Barack Obama must do whatever they can to strengthen institutions that can stabilize Iraq, starting with ensuring that provincial elections, set for Jan. 31, and national elections, expected by the end of 2009, are as free and fair as possible. To exclude Sunnis or other minorities from this process risks a return to civil war. Iraq’s government must provide jobs for more Sons of Iraq (insurgents whose willingness to help the Americans fight Al Qaeda has been essential to declining violence) and build an army loyal to the state, not political parties.

We need to get back to the business of telling the Iraqis that their American military shield is coming down and that they had better begin to prepare themselves; not just militarily, but in making the political sacrifices necessary to form the coalitions which lessen or eliminate divisions which would ignite without our military forces separating the opposition communities from the increasingly autocratic regime.