Iraqi Government Official: Iraqi Security Ready for U.S Withdrawal

By Celia Canon- Talk Radio News Service

On Monday, Dr. Rafe Al-Eissawi, Iraq’s deputy prime minister, made a speech at the Carnegie Endowment For International Peace Center in which he addressed the issue of U.S withdrawal from Iraq. Al-Eissawi insists that Iraqi security forces are ready to take over the protection of the country.

Al-Eissawi was optimistic that the Iraqi security forces could meet the requirements expected by the U.S to allow for the American withdrawal of its troops to optimize Iraqi stability and security after the 2010 Iraqi general elections that will determine the new members of the national parliament.

“Let me say this as plainly as I can: by August 31, 2010, our combat mission in Iraq will end,” announced U.S. President Barack Obama on February 28.

Speaking on his assessment of the withdrawal, Al-Eissawi said “We consider the Iraqi forces are capable of controlling the situation.”

Iraq has acknowledged and taken measures to fill the vacuum left by the rapid departure of American forces and the gradual dispersion of American influence, Al-Eissawi said. “We are fully aware of the challenges that may take place accompanying this control shift of transition from mixed Iraqi-American to purely Iraqi security forces.”

But Al-Eissawi recognized that the Iraqi security forces’ capacity to take over the security of Iraq would not come immediately but would rather require that the national forces remain under American auspices, saying that Iraq “may need the American force in the next period, focusing more and more on training and some logistic support, which is considered to make a great difference.”

According to Al-Eissawi, the effectiveness of the withdrawal depends upon “The necessity of commitment and implementation of the SOFA (Status of Forces Agreement that provides a framework of cooperation between two countries as one state stations troops in another state) between Iraq and America and the timing of withdrawal of the main troops from the main cities and the capacity building of the Iraqi security forces that will be able to cover the security vacuum that may take place accompanying the withdrawal.”