Hasty Iraq pullout seen as high risk

U.S. intelligence and military officials agree with President Bush’s belief that a withdrawal of troops from Iraq will increase the danger of global terrorism and further destabilize Iraq, the Middle East and other parts of the world.

Mr. Bush reiterated his position last week, saying that pulling troops out too soon would be “dangerous” to U.S. security.

“Those who justify withdrawing our troops from Iraq by denying the threat of al Qaeda in Iraq and its ties to Osama bin Laden ignore the clear consequences,” he said during a speech Tuesday at Charleston Air Force Base in South Carolina. “If we were to follow their advice, it would be dangerous for the world and disastrous for America.”

Army Lt. Gen. Ray Odierno, the commander of Multinational Corps Iraq, agrees that an abrupt change in strategy or a rapid withdrawal of U.S. troops could be dangerous.

“What I would hope for is that we are very deliberate if we have a change in strategy … and not try to do it in a very quick time frame, because I think there’s a lot of danger and risk associated with that,” Gen. Odierno said recently.

Two Democratic presidential candidates disagree with that viewpoint and are calling for an immediate withdrawal of troops from Iraq.

“It doesn’t take legislation [to end the war],” Rep. Dennis J. Kucinich, Ohio Democrat, said Monday night during the CNN/YouTube presidential debate. “… We should tell President Bush: no more funds for the war. Use that money to bring the troops home.”

During the debate, Gov. Bill Richardson of New Mexico sought to differentiate himself from the Democratic senators running for president, saying he wants troops “home by the end of this year, in six months, with no residual forces.”

However, Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Barham Salih told the United Nations on July 20 that early withdrawal of U.S.-led forces “would cause a disaster for Iraq and the region.”

The best way forward, he said, is to ensure that Iraqi Security Forces are prepared to defend the country on their own.

“But we need time and space,” Mr. Salih said, according to the Associated Press. “We need sustained support from the international community.”

That support can be hard to find in the Democrat-controlled Congress.

The House voted July 12 to approve legislation that would require the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq to begin within 120 days and to be completed by April 1. The legislation calls for leaving a small force to train Iraqis and fight al Qaeda terrorists.

The Senate failed on July 18 to approve legislation requiring a deadline for a troop pullout. Majority Leader Harry Reid, Nevada Democrat and a leading war critic, echoed the sentiments of many in his party when he said that Mr. Bush’s troop “surge in Iraq is failing to make Iraq safer, and al Qaeda is growing stronger.”

Thomas Fingar, the deputy director of national intelligence for analysis, told the House Armed Services Committee on July 11 that a National Intelligence Estimate (NIE) on Iraq in January, which highlighted the dangers of a rapid troop pullout, is still valid.

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