US Troop Withdrawal from Iraq–Is There an End in Sight?
Although Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki recently insisted that his country is in the thick of intensive discussions regarding US troop withdrawal from Iraq, nothing concrete has come to fruition yet. He has made it well known that his government has most recently proposed a deal whereby all US troops would be out of the country by December 2011, but the US has not taken the bait.
The issues of contention surrounding the negotiation of a withdrawal deadline are the US soldiers’ ability to detain Iraqi citizens while still present there and the US soldiers’ immunity from being prosecuted in Iraqi courts. As this issue is strongly linked to each country maintaining its national sovereignty, it is unlikely that either side will cede to the other without major compromise.
Haley Hackendale
