In an interview with the New York Times, Abdul-Qader al-Obeidi said Iraqi forces would be able handle domestic security by 2012 but would not be fully prepared to defend against an external threat until at least 2018.
Al-Obeidi’s comments represent the most specific assessment of the future of the American presence in Iraq to come from either Washington or Baghdad, though various officials have made varying pronouncements in recent weeks.
“According to our calculations and our timelines, we think that from the first quarter of 2009 until 2012 we will be able to take full control of the internal affairs of the country,” al-Obeidi said in the Monday interview.
“In regard to the borders, regarding protection from any external threats, our calculation appears that we are not going to be able to answer to any external threats until 2018 to 2020,” al-Obeidi said.
For anyone paying attention, this has been the plan for Iraq all along. It's been our plan wherever our military has gone, for the most part.
Of course, the only real external threat is Iran. So you could get our troops out of Iraq much faster if the nutso mullah Tehran regime wasn't in power ...
