Will Iraq Ask Us To Stay?

The US is lobbying for troops to remain in Iraq after the official withdrawal date – which requires approval from the Iraqi government. Joel Wing peers into his crystal ball:

With seven months left in the year, Washington is picking up its efforts to convince the Iraqi government to allow some troops to stay in the country into 2012. There have been a slew of meetings over the issue in just the last month. The Iraqis though, are caught up in their own political squabbles, and are afraid of how they will look to the public and to each other if they come out in support of a U.S. troop extension. Their opponents could use that against them, and they could also lose face with the public. That means as of now, there is little to no chance that Baghdad will let the American forces stay past the end of the year. At the same time, if the government formation process is finally settled in the coming weeks and months, Iraq could change its tune. Whether the U.S. stays or go will likely come down to the last minute, which is what happens all too often in Iraq with anything important.

But waiting until the last minute isn’t logistically possible according to Admiral Mullen.