“There has been some intelligence of Iranian surrogates attempting to attack U.S. bases,” General Odierno said at a Baghdad news briefing. “For years, these groups have been talking about that they are forcing the U.S. to leave. It’s not necessarily what’s reality; it’s what they’re able to use propaganda-wise, and I feel they think this would be a huge propaganda tool for them in the future.”
General Odierno said any attacks on bases would not disrupt the American plan to reduce the number of its troops in the country to 50,000 by Sept. 1, from about 85,000 currently.
We'll still have a sizable force to help the Iraqis go after such attackers if they truly come out in the open to attack our withdrawing forces. It would be a pointless exercise that will only get some of our guys killed and many more of their people killed, but if it allows them to claim they chased us out, they'll try it. You'd think that 50,000 US troops remaining in Iraq would make such a claim self evidently ridiculous, but these people are nuts in so many ways that they'll make the claim.
Our troops will need to stay alert. The war is won, but the shooting isn't over.
