HOUSTON — President Bush agreed to “a general time horizon” for withdrawing American troops in Iraq, the White House announced Friday, in a concession that reflected both progress in stabilizing Iraq and the depth of political opposition to an open-ended military presence in Iraq and at home.
Mr. Bush, who has long derided timetables for troop withdrawals as dangerous, agreed to at least a notional one as part of the administration’s efforts to negotiate the terms for an American military presence in Iraq after a United Nations mandate expires at the end of the year.
The agreement, announced in coordinated statements released Friday by the White House and Prime Minister Maliki's government, reflected a significant shift in the war in Iraq. More than five years after the conflict began with the overthrow of Saddam Husseins government, the American military presence now depends significantly, if not completely, on Iraqi acquiescence.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/19/wo...th&oref=slogin
Quite a shift in position- a turnaround actually. So Iraq will not be the big US middle eastern Barracks as envisaged. Oil will be the sole 'big thing' in Iraq. Then again, it always was.
I wonder if the US taxpayers will now start wondering about those huge US military facilities constructed by Halliburton on no bid contracts?
Or the fact that Baghdad contains the worlds largest embassy?
Still, in it's recent softening of positions on Iran and Iraq, the Bush admin is finally starting to show some common sense.