The World
By BILL MARSH
Published: July 29, 2007
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Here are five questions that any administration — this one, or its successor — will have to answer as part of an exit from Iraq.
How Fast Can the Troops Leave? Large numbers of American soldiers have left a modern war zone, but never so many from a still-hostile region.
Analysts agree that most would be airlifted, a far safer path than Iraqi roadways. (But many more soldiers would be needed to protect convoys of equipment that can only travel on the ground.)
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Can Departing Soldiers Be Shielded From Attack? Troops concentrated in convoys that are transporting huge quantities of supplies out of Iraq make tempting targets. In the south, British forces have been attacked by militants as they pull back.
“We’re probably going to get stuck fighting our way out,” said Stephen Biddle, a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, especially in a rapid withdrawal. Mr. Biddle gives the current increase in troop levels a limited chance of successfully stabilizing the country, but it will take perhaps two years, with more casualties in the meantime. Hence the calculation: Withdraw with casualties now, or risk a better exit in a few years? How great is that risk?
Who Stays Behind? There are up to 100,000 Iraqi contractors, perhaps more, working for the United States. After a pullout, many of them could be at risk from reprisals by anti-American forces.
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So far, few Iraqis — either contractors or refugees — have been allowed to immigrate to the United States. The State Department has said thousands could potentially be resettled here in 2007. According to a bipartisan group of senators seeking special status for Iraqi refugees, only 63 have been admitted this year.
What to Take? What to Leave? What to Destroy? After more than four years of buildup, the American footprint in Iraq is enormous. There are more than 75 major bases:
Some have their own retail stores, with products from magazines to luxury goods like large-screen televisions for purchase by soldiers. There are grocers, fitness clubs and fast-food outlets, in addition to the usual military infrastructure. Besides bases, there are hundreds of smaller sites for storage, ammunition and fuel.
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