Replacing combat non-combat troops with contractors in order to satisfy his anti-war supporters?
I'm waiting for him to eat his words. But if a blow-up occurs where will Mr. Kahl be? On his way to a nice job as a lobbyist?Obama referred to what he called "a transitional force" in his speech on Aug. 2, pledging that it would remain "until we remove all our troops from Iraq by the end of the next year".
He also declared an end to the U.S. "combat mission" in Iraq as of Aug. 31. But an official acknowledged told IPS that combat would continue and would not necessarily be confined to defending against attacks on U.S. personnel.
The administration decided on the transition from military to civilian responsibility for security at an interagency meeting the week of Jul. 19. It made the broad outlines of the plan public at an Aug. 16 State Department news briefing and another briefing the following day, even though crucial details had not been worked out.Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defence for Middle Eastern Affairs Colin Kahl and Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs Michael Corbin presented the administration plan for what they called a "transition from a military to civilian relationship" with Iraq.
The plan involves replacing the official U.S. military presence in Iraq with a much smaller State Department-run force of private security contractors. Press reports have indicated that the force will number several thousand, and that it is seeking 29 helicopters, 60 IED-proof personnel carriers and a fleet of 1,320 armored cars.
The contractor force would also operate radars so it can call in airstrikes and fly reconnaissance drones, according to the New York Times Aug. 21.
Kahl argued that the transition is justified by security trends in Iraq. He said al Qaeda is "weaker than it's ever been", that Moqtada al Sadr's Mahdi Army has been "largely disbanded", and that there is no strategic threat to the regime.
WSJ: Text of Obama’s Speech on Iraq
White House
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