Deadline back on for Iraq pullout
Immunity deal not reached; troops will leave by Dec. 31
BAGHDAD – The U.S. is abandoning plans to keep U.S. troops in Iraq past a year-end withdrawal deadline. The decision to pull out fully by January will effectively end more than eight years of U.S. involvement in the Iraq war, despite concerns about its security forces and the potential for instability.
The decision ends months of hand-wringing by U.S. officials over whether to stick to a Dec. 31 withdrawal deadline that was set in 2008 or negotiate a new security agreement to ensure that gains made and more than 4,400 U.S. military lives lost since March 2003 aren’t wasted.
In recent months, Washington has been discussing with Iraqi leaders the possibility of several thousand American troops remaining to continue training Iraqi security forces. A Pentagon spokesman said Saturday no final decision has been reached about the U.S. training relationship with the Iraqi government.
But a senior Obama administration official in Washington confirmed Saturday that all American troops will leave Iraq except for about 160 active-duty soldiers attached to the U.S. Embassy.
A senior U.S. military official confirmed the departure and said the withdrawal could allow future but limited U.S. military training missions in Iraq if requested. Both officials spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue.
Throughout the discussions, Iraqi leaders have refused to give U.S. troops immunity from prosecution in Iraqi courts, and the Americans have refused to stay without it. Iraq’s leadership has been split on whether it wanted American forces to stay. Some argued the further training and U.S. help was vital. But others have deeply opposed any American troop presence.
Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has told U.S. military officials he does not have the votes in parliament to provide immunity to American trainers, the U.S. military official said.
White House spokesman Tommy Vietor said discussions with Iraq about the security relationship between the countries next year were ongoing.
Pentagon press secretary George Little said the U.S. remains “committed to keeping our agreement with the Iraqi government to remove all of our troops by the end of this year.”