Iraq Reaches Deal For U.S. Withdrawal In 3 years

Withdrawal Could Be Accelerated By Obama

November 27. 2008

President-elect Barack Obama

The Iraqi government reached an agreement today for the withdrawal of U.S. troops from the region within 3 years. Reports indicate president-elect Barack Obama also has the option of speeding up the withdrawal. The sooner the better.

Iraqi parliament OKs US troops for 3 more years

BAGHDAD (AP) - The long, costly story of American military involvement in Iraq moved closer to an end Thursday when Iraq's parliament approved a pact that requires all troops to be out in three years, marking the first clear timetable for a U.S. exit since the 2003 invasion that ousted Saddam Hussein…

The war has claimed more than 4,200 American lives and killed a far greater, untold number of Iraqis, consumed huge reserves of money and resources and eroded the global stature of the United States, even among its closest allies.

Now an end is in sight, and American troops could leave sooner if President-elect Barack Obama makes good on a plan to pull out combat troops within 16 months of moving into the White House in January.

Still, anti-American sentiment is likely to remain a flashpoint for discontent in Iraq, where many people suspect the United States will stay to preserve interests in the Middle East such as access to oil.

"I reject this agreement because it was signed under the occupation and was the result of external pressure and lowly political sectarian deals at the expense of the Iraqi people," said Qais Yassin, a Shiite engineer in eastern Baghdad, an al-Sadr stronghold.

Hussein Ali, a Shiite shop owner, said he thought the pact would ultimately have a positive outcome. "The only thing we want is to live in peace and see the U.S. forces leave Iraq," he said.

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