Our View: We should pay heed to what Iraq’s leaders want

Iraqi government officials believe it's time for the training wheels to come off.

Prime Minister Nouri Maliki indicated this week his country wants a timetable for withdrawal of U.S. military forces. It was more than a broad hint, as Iraqi and U.S. officials begin negotiating a strategy for Iraq's future -- one most Iraqis hope will not include the long-term presence of U.S. forces.

Americans should share that hope, and recent polls indicate they do. What the majority of Americans want, however, may be in direct conflict with what President Bush and his advisors have in mind.

Among the reasons Maliki chose this particular moment to voice his desire for a U.S. troop withdrawal timetable is the pervasive fear that the Bush administration wants to draw up a long-range blueprint for Iraq that gives U.S. forces a more or less permanent presence in that pivotal Mideast region. Many Iraqis -- and Americans, for that matter -- worry that the more aggressive hawks in the Bush administration envision military bases in Iraq from which to launch strikes against neighboring countries whose leaders are unfriendly to the United States. Many military strategists believe the Iraq war has morphed into a setup for military action against Iran. That would be another sad mistake.

Maliki and his advisors are trying to trump any effort to further militarize the region by demanding that a timetable for U.S. troop withdrawal be written into the blueprint. The prime minister's suggestion has been greeted warmly by Shiite Muslims, who pulled out of Maliki's government last year in protest of a continuing U.S. presence in Iraq. The country is showing signs of unification, which is more than U.S. officials could have hoped for, considering that political and religious differences in Iraq date back thousands of years.

So, here is the question Americans need to ask themselves: If the majority of Americans want to end the U.S. occupation of Iraq, and a majority of Iraqis -- including its government leaders -- want troops to leave, how much longer should we stay in Iraq?

The answer lies in the timing. Iraqi officials are publicly stating their preference for U.S. troops leaving the country, in large part because they don't want to be intimidated by the Bush administration, which will be in power only a few more months. Iraqi officials said they would prefer a decision now on a long-range plan, because "no one can guess" which way things will go after the election, when the new administration is sworn in.

It's a fair guess that whichever nominee wins the election, the war will begin winding down -- quickly -- after the Jan. 20 swearing-in ceremony. Both Barack Obama and John McCain are thoroughly familiar with that concept, especially McCain, who has seen the cost of war up close and personal.

Iraqis may want U.S. troops out of their country, but are they ready to go it alone?

Two U.S. government reports last month offered a mixed message on Iraq's status. A report from the Pentagon indicates Iraqi security forces are making steady progress. A report by the Government Accountability Office, however, concluded that the Iraqi government is not stable enough to stand alone.

In other words, this protracted war to democratize Iraq and/or defeat terrorism has done little to facilitate Iraq's overall readiness to govern itself.

But at some point, ready or not, the training wheels have to come off.

(July 8, 2008)