The US ambassador to Iraq assured lawmakers Thursday that the American diplomatic mission there will remain well protected even after the withdrawal of US troops in late 2011.
A private security force some 5,500 strong will remain to protect the large US diplomatic presence, US Ambassador James Jeffrey told members of the Senate Armed Services Committee.
The "mission" they need to be primarily worried about is preserving and nurturing Iraq's democracy while defending their borders from external enemies and defeating internal enemies. The "mission" to be defended is not the actual embassy compound that our diplomats will work in.
Yes, the ambassador and our top general in Iraq think that the Iraqis can hold together with our civilian-dominated contingent planned (20,000, including contract security personnel and arms contractors for training), but their focus better be on keeping our people out in the field supporting that confidence with deeds and not just holing up in a compound secure enough to be defended and evacuated if everything goes wrong.
I really hope that saner heads prevail and that we and the Iraqis come to an agreement that leaves 4 ground combat brigades in Iraq (Ok, I'll go down to 3, but that's it as far as compromise in the face of total withdrawal as the alternative) along with the support personnel to sustain them and Iraq's path to secure democracy.
