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U.S. path out of Iraq: Hand off insurgency to locals

Jan-24-2005 » Filed Under: TF Olympia

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By John Yaukey, Gannett News Service

Mary Cozort has lost 16 pounds since her son, Edward, deployed to Iraq more than four months ago. "Every time I e-mailed him I'd write that he has the armor of God around him and he's going to be safe and he's coming home," the Glen Fork, W.Va., resident said. "I have to keep his morale up because he's already been hit by (shrapnel from an improvised bomb)."

Steven Krulish of Swanzey, N.H., now finds himself battling episodes of intense dread after learning his son Ethan's unit sustained heavy casualties in a recent mess tent bombing near the northern Iraqi city of Mosul.

"When I write him, I don't ask him questions about what sort of military things he's doing," Krulish said. {...]

Retired Army Gen. Tommy Franks, who led U.S. forces in conquering Baghdad almost two years ago, has speculated that American troops will be engaged in Iraq for as long as a decade, although much of that could be in a relatively low-profile role.

Ultimately, the decision about when American troops leave may not be made at the Pentagon or White House.

The Arab newspaper al Hayat recently reported that a spokesman for Shiite Grand Ayatollah Ali al Sistani, arguably the most powerful man in Iraq, said the new government "might demand that the occupying power leave Iraq."

If that seems like a possible blessing in disguise, consider the cost of a premature U.S. departure.

"That region is home to two-thirds of the world's known petroleum reserves," said Juan Cole, an expert on Arab affairs at the University of Michigan and author of a widely read and respected blog on the Middle East (www.juancole.com). "If it descends into chaos you've got more than just theoretical problems."

Contributing: Christian Hill, The Olympian (Wash.)


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