December was the first month since the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq nearly seven years ago in which no U.S. forces died in combat in the country.
Three died in non-combat incidents. But about 120,000 US troops suffered no combat losses last month in Iraq.
It seems like only yesterday that opponents of the war were insisting that we were doomed to defeat there.
Iran and Syria still sponsor killers. And the Kurdish issue must be negotiated deftly. And of course, we need to cultivate rule of law in Iraq. So it isn't like we can safely walk away and assume events will continue to go our way on their own. But the issues that Iraq faces are diplomatic, legal, and para-military tasks rather than heavy warfare issues.
UPDATE: Given this, it is no surprise that General Odierno sees no obstacles to continuing our planned withdrawal this year. We'll have about 100,000 troops on hand for the Iraqi March elections.
