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- Daughter of late Iranian president jailed for ‘spreading lies’ - IRAN: Annual report on the death penalty 2016 - Taheri Facing the Death Penalty Again - Dedicated team seeking return of missing agent in Iran - Iran Arrests 2, Seizes Bibles During Catholic Crackdown
- Trump to welcome Netanyahu as Palestinians fear U.S. shift
- Details of Iran nuclear deal still secret as US-Tehran relations unravel - Will Trump's Next Iran Sanctions Target China's Banks? - Don’t ‘tear up’ the Iran deal. Let it fail on its own. - Iran Has Changed, But For The Worse - Iran nuclear deal ‘on life support,’ Priebus says
- Female Activist Criticizes Rouhani’s Failure to Protect Citizens
- Iran’s 1st female bodybuilder tells her story - Iranian lady becomes a Dollar Millionaire on Valentine’s Day - Two women arrested after being filmed riding motorbike in Iran - 43,000 Cases of Child Marriage in Iran - Woman Investigating Clinton Foundation Child Trafficking KILLED!
- Senior Senators, ex-US officials urge firm policy on Iran
- In backing Syria's Assad, Russia looks to outdo Iran - Six out of 10 People in France ‘Don’t Feel Safe Anywhere’ - The liberal narrative is in denial about Iran - Netanyahu urges Putin to block Iranian power corridor - Iran Poses ‘Greatest Long Term Threat’ To Mid-East Security |
Saturday 22 October 2011Iraqis Split over US Troop Withdrawal
Iraqis are expressing mixed emotions about President Barack Obama's announcement to withdraw all U.S. troops from their country by the end of the year. Some say they worry about continued fragile security, while many others say that nearly nine years after the U.S.-led invasion, it's past time the Americans go home. In the streets of Baghdad, Obama's announcement was greeted with joy. Resident Bilal says the U.S. decision was the correct one: the Americans leave behind destruction and sedition, but Iraqis will rebuild the country after the withdrawal. While many Iraqis welcomed the U.S. invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein in 2003, that soon faded as the oppression of the Saddam years was replaced by the unleashing of sectarian violence and near civil war. The U.S. had promised three years ago to leave by the end of this year, so the decision did not take some people by surprise. But Abdullah al Agili, also in Baghdad, says he thinks the American presence is still needed, arguing the Iraqi army is weak and divided on sectarian lines. Sectarian violence still flares across the country, with bombings and shootings claiming dozens of lives each month. American officials also worry that the continuing unrest may make it easier for neighboring Iran to gain a greater foothold in the Arab nation once the troops leave. Iraqi and U.S. officials had long speculated that several thousand troops would stay beyond 2011. But the matter came down, in part, to one of sovereignty - the talks on extending the mission breaking down over the U.S. demand of immunity from Iraqi prosecution for its forces. Still, even after the announcement, Iraqi officials held open the idea that some U.S. military presence could still be needed, in particular for training the fledgling Iraqi army. |