Iraq: Should We Stay Or Should We Go?

Posted Jul 31, 2011 by Howard Altman

Updated Jul 31, 2011 at 08:23 PM

As Congress and the White House debate the debt ceiling and Gen. John Allen is tasked with figuring out the way forward in Afghanistan, which includes a substantial pullout of troops, Iraq remains very much in play, as this latest report from the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction quarterly report so vividly reminds us.

According to the report:

Negotiations continued this quarter between the U.S. government and the Government of Iraq (GOI) on the possibil¬ity of a continuing U.S. military presence in Iraq after December 31, 2011. While Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki is open to that possibility, the fractious Iraqi political situation—and the ominous opposition of Muqtada al-Sadr and his restive supporters—have made it difficult to forge support for an extension within the GOI.

U.S. Transitions

As of mid-July, approximately 43,800 personnel of the U.S. Forces-Iraq (USF-I) continue to prepare for their planned withdrawal from Iraq by year’s end. As USF-I rapidly draws down, the Depart¬ment of State (DoS) will concomitantly increase its presence, and the scope of its mission will expand. This quarter, DoS inaugurated new consulates in Basrah and Erbil, providing a permanent diplo¬matic presence in the oil-rich south and Kurdish north. DoS also intends to open a temporary consulate in Kirkuk, but plans for a presence in Mosul have been placed on hold.

On October 1, 2011, DoS will assume responsibility for two key security mis¬sions now managed by the U.S. military:

• The Office of Security Cooperation-Iraq (OSC-I) will be responsible for ties with the Iraqi armed forces. OSC-I will fall under the authority of the Chief of Mission and will advise, train, and assist the Iraqi military and manage U.S.-funded security-assistance programs.

• The DoS Bureau of International Narcot¬ics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL) will take charge of continuing to build the capacity of the Iraqi police.

Increased Violence

These transitions are being executed against the backdrop of an increasingly violent Iraq. This quarter, Iranian-backed Shia militias launched deadly attacks on U.S. troops, and the International Zone (IZ) came under multiple indirect-fire at¬tacks. In one attack, 11 rockets struck the IZ—the highest number for a single day in more than two years. Attacks continued against GOI personnel, with several large bombings targeting Iraqi police. Scores of senior officials, including judges, gener¬als, and mayors, were assassinated or wounded this quarter.

You can read the full report here. Pretty interesting reading. Especially about the lack of oversight on billions of dollars spent on rebuilding Iraq. Though the report finds no criminal wrongdoing or outright theft, it makes you wonder who’s minding the store.

This week, two soldiers died in Afghanistan and none in Iraq, a marked departure from previous weeks. Though I can’t imagine that is overly comforting to the good folks of Oklahoma, who lost two of their own.

The soldiers died July 29 at Paktia, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when insurgents attacked their unit with an improvised explosive device.  They were assigned to the 1st Battalion, 279th Infantry Regiment, 45th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, Oklahoma Army National Guard, Tulsa, Okla.

        Killed were:
        2nd Lt. Jered W. Ewy, 33, of Edmond, Okla., and
        Spc. Augustus J. Vicari, 22, of Broken Arrow, Okla.

There have now been 1,660 casualties of Operation Enduring Freedom.