Clinton says Iran shouldn’t misread American exit from Iraq, US still a presence in region

[The Northerner]

WASHINGTON — Iran should not misread the withdrawal of American troops from Iraq as affecting the U.S. commitment to the fledgling democracy, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said on Sunday.

President Barack Obama’s announcement on Friday that all American troops would return from Iraq by the end of the year will close a chapter on U.S.-Iraq relations that began in 2003 with the U.S.-led invasion to overthrow Saddam Hussein.

Iran is expected to try to use the departure of U.S. troops to expand its influence on its neighbor.

Clinton said in a series of news show interviews that the U.S. would continue its training mission with Iraq and that it would resemble operations in Colombia and elsewhere. While the U.S. will not have combat troops in Iraq, she said the American presence would remain strong because of its bases in the region.

Read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/clinton-says-iran-shouldnt-misread-american-exit-from-iraq-us-still-a-presence-in-region/2011/10/23/gIQAvAgw9L_story.html

[FarCenter]

1. The military position should be somewhat better

We will no longer have small units deep in Iraq that can be overrun easily.

[MADem]

2. Jordan will do some of our heavy lifting for us. They're closer, anyway, and we've

recently built them a fabulous special operations center that is just the ticket for training. Any oversight we have in country will be there with a diplomatic passport--no SOFA worries in that case, the diplomatic imprimatur applies.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

3. Saber rattling while being kicked out of a country we lost a war to rings a liitle hollow.

Not to mention we're on the verge of getting kicked out of another country we went to "save".