Since the campaigning days, U.S President Barrack Obama had outlined his primary policy, stating that the withdrawal of U.S troops from Iraq took precedence over every other issue. Now, it seems that Pres. Obama was true to his word, with the beginning of the withdrawal of U.S troops from Iraq.
This latest development comes amidst growing unrest and a rise in the violence in Iraqi streets, where death squads roam through neighborhoods killing rival Muslim sects and suicide and car bomb attacks taking place every other day.
On Tuesday, a small percentage of U.S soldiers will return home permanently as part of the troop withdrawal from Iraq. They would hand over the security responsibilities to the Iraqi Police Force and Iraqi soldiers, who till this date are untried and untested in the insurgent infested areas of Iraq.
Experts believe that, if the Iraqi security forces are to maintain peace and calm, then it would be safe to establish that the country would be able to get back to its feet and progress. However, if they fail, there would be an all new kind of uncontrollable bloodshed that would ravage the already battle scarred country.
According to General Ray Odierno (U.S. Commander, Iraq),
“I do believe they’re (Iraqi forces) ready. We’ve seen constant improvement in the security force, we’ve seen constant improvement in governance.”
However, many citizens of Iraq aren’t that optimistic with this move, due to the sudden rise in sectarian violence that has killed over 250 people in the last week itself. With a sudden jump in shooting incidents and bombings all across Iraq, citizens are wondering as to what would happen , if the violence increases after the U.S troop withdrawal.
According to Miriwan Kerim (peddler, age 32),
“The Americans are pulling out but they haven’t accomplished the task that they came for, which is defeating terrorism. The security situation is still fragile so the withdrawal will not restore us to square one but to square zero.”
With all these rapid developments, many also fear that the many of the Iraqi police force are large influenced by Shiite militants and that they too could play a big role, if there is a rise in violence after the troop withdrawal.
Via Reuters.
