Obama Iraq Speech To Signal Shift To Afghan Focus

Thousands of private contractor troops remain in Iraq (along with 56,000 US military troops), all combat-trained and combat ready, as "the Iraq War is not over and it is not 'won'," writes Anthony Cordesman, a military expert with the Center for Strategic and International Studies. "In fact, it is at as critical a stage as at any time since 2003 ... everything now depends on a successful transition to an effective and unified Iraqi government, and Iraqi security forces that can bring both security and stability to the average Iraqi. The creation of such an 'end state' will take a minimum of another five years, and probably ten."



Leading Iraqi military commander Gen. Babaker Shawkat Zebari said Iraqi security forces won't be able to stand on their own for at least a decade.



Cordesman criticized the Obama administration for misleading both Americans and Iraqis, calling the August 18 announcement "just as wrong and irresponsible as the one given by President Bush."



http://www.truth-out.org/confusion-iraq-troops-and-contractors-march-into-new-era62719
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