DEJANDO IRAK - ¿Y DESPUÉS QUÉ?

Top of the Agenda: Last U.S. Combat Troops Leave Iraq The last U.S. combat brigade left Iraq (BBC) as U.S. President Barack Obama's August 31 deadline for ending combat operations there nears. Some fifty thousand U.S. troops will remain until the end of 2011 to advise Iraqi forces and protect U.S. interests. An additional six thousand support troops will be in Iraq until the end of the month. The task of training the Iraqi police will largely be carried out by contractors. U.S. diplomats in two new outposts will be tasked with diffusing sectarian tensions between the Iraqi army and Kurdish forces (NYT) in northern Iraq. The State Department also plans to more than double its private security guards to as many as seven thousand to protect civilians against al-Qaeda and Iranian-backed militias. Some officials doubt Obama can fulfill (Reuters) his pledge to draw down all troops by the end of 2011 and that thousands more will be needed. Defense Secretary Robert Gates left the door open to that possibility but stressed that Iraq's new government would first have to ask. Analysis: On Stratfor, George Friedman says a crisis may arise if the United States continues to withdraw its remaining fifty thousand troops to the point that Shiite politicians close to Iran feel free to escalate attacks on Sunnis. This CFR Analysis Brief discusses Obama's defense of the U.S. troop drawdown, and U.S. and Iraqi military officials' pursuit of a longer commitment. Read President Obama's August 2 remarks on the Iraq drawdown. Read the U.S.-Iraq Status of Forces agreement.

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