The " Non-Denial Denial " on the withdrawl from IRAQ

History repeats itself.....the withdrawal from Iraq was expected as the strain on the military is untenable,and now with active combat troops in Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Uganda (really ?) and Yemen, we need the resources elsewhere....all this from Mr. Hopey-Changey in the White House...how's that working out for you??

Due to the need to send limited resources elsewhere,we are once again encountering the phenomena known as "The Non-Denial Denial "

To wit: " Non-denial denial" is a phrase that became popular in the wake of the Watergate scandal, referring to an equivocal denial, particularly one made by an official to the press."

READ between the lines here as US reacts to stories released stating we are bugging out of Iraq ASAP...This has become the primary MO of the present administration -

Deny, deny, deny....Oh well, you caught us doing it so we might as well fess up....

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U.S.: Still weighing troop withdrawal from Iraq
By Christopher Hinton, MarketWatch

10/17/11

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) — The Pentagon is denying a weekend report that the U.S. has decided to remove nearly all of its forces from Iraq by the end of the year.

Obama administration officials have considered leaving up to 5,000 troops in the country to train security forces, a strategy that may now have more support in the wake of U.S. allegations that Iran plotted to assassinate a Saudi ambassador.

Iranian power has expanded since the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003, and American officials worry the Shiite nation could undermine regional U.S. allies Israel and Saudi Arabia.

“Suggestions that a final decision has been reached about our training relationship with the Iraqi government are wrong,” Pentagon press secretary George Little said. “Those discussions are ongoing.”

On Saturday, the Associated Press, citing an anonymous White House official, said all American forces would leave Iraq leave except for about 160 troops attached to the U.S. Embassy.

On Thursday, President Barack Obama said the U.S. would apply the “toughest sanctions” yet against Iran for the alleged plot to kill the Saudi ambassador.

Democratic leaders in the Senate want Obama to specifically target Iran’s central bank, which would potentially block Iran from the global financial system and make it difficult for the country to clear billions of dollars of oil sales every month, The Wall Street Journal reported.

Close to 40,000 Americans are expected to leave Iraq before the end of the year as the U.S. wraps up combat operations, the AP said. Keeping American troops in the country for a longer period has been a divisive subject for Iraqi leaders.

Christopher Hinton is a reporter for MarketWatch based in New York

The AFGHANISTAN version of the " Non-Denial Denial "

As previously reviewed here, we are once again encountering the phenomena known as
"The Non-Denial Denial "

To wit: " Non-denial denial is a phrase that became popular in the wake of the Watergate scandal, referring to an equivocal denial, particularly one made by an official to the press."

READ between the lines here as US Ambassador to Afghanistan Ryan Crocker spoke to the press today in Kabul -

"We will stay as long as we need to and not one day more."

"Beyond 2014, even when Afghans have transitioned to a full security lead, I'm confident we and the international community will be in the position to work with Afghanistan to prevent any forcible return of the Taliban to power."

While both of these statements are technically true, they are also so wide open you could drive a Bradley Tank through them....

No, my good friends, this is the " New Germany ", this is the " New Korea ".....think about how long we have been in both of these places and then read the report again.

The NON-DENIAL DENIAL is alive and well......and in full effect.


No permanent U.S. bases in Afghanistan: U.S. ambassador
By Michelle Nichols
KABUL Mon Jul 25, 2011 4:02am EDT

KABUL (Reuters) - The United States has no interest in creating permanent military bases in Afghanistan and does not want to use the country as a platform to influence neighboring countries, the new U.S. ambassador to Afghanistan said Monday.

Washington is negotiating with the Afghan government on a deal to define the long-term American role in Afghanistan beyond the end of 2014, when NATO-led combat troops are due to leave after handing security control to the Afghan army and police.

It remains unclear whether the "strategic partnership" agreement would explicitly refer to possible U.S. military bases in Afghanistan beyond 2014. Afghan President Hamid Karzai has said the possibility of long-term U.S. bases can only be addressed once peace has been achieved.

"We have no interest in permanent bases in Afghanistan," said U.S. Ambassador Ryan Crocker shortly after he was sworn in at the U.S. Embassy in Kabul, in an apparent nod to Afghanistan's powerful and wary neighbors.

"We will stay as long as we need to and not one day more."

Afghanistan has complex relationships with Pakistan and Iran, who see the country as vital to their own security and fear U.S. efforts to undermine their influence there, while both China and Russia are wary of U.S. ambitions in the region.

However, despite billions being poured into building up the Afghan security forces, the problems they face -- from illiteracy to corruption -- means both Afghans and foreigners expect some kind of continued military support beyond 2014, even if foreign troops are no longer on the front lines.

The United States may also be keen to keep bases for attacks on targets in Pakistan's lawless tribal areas believed to pose a terrorist threat, such as the base that was used to launch the raid that killed al Qaeda head Osama bin Laden earlier this year, analysts say.

Crocker said the United States had no hidden agenda.

"We have no interest in using Afghanistan as a platform to project influence into neighboring countries," he said.

"Our sole interest is in Afghanistan's security and sustainable stability and ensuring it will never again become a haven for international terrorism."

Crocker reopened the U.S. embassy in Kabul in 2001 after the Taliban were ousted by U.S.-backed Afghan forces for harboring al Qaeda militants, including bin Laden who was killed in May at his hideout in neighboring Pakistan.

Crocker has also served as U.S. ambassador to Pakistan, Iraq, Syria, Kuwait and Lebanon. Ambassadors are normally sworn in by the Secretary of State in Washington, but Crocker chose to be sworn in by a junior foreign service member in Kabul.

He said that as Afghanistan gradually took control of its own security, it was important to remind Afghans that there would be no "rush for the exits" by the international community.

"Beyond 2014, even when Afghans have transitioned to a full security lead, I'm confident we and the international community will be in the position to work with Afghanistan to prevent any forcible return of the Taliban to power," he said.