How Maliki & Iran Outsmarted the US on Troop Withdrawal

Defense Secretary Leon Panetta’s suggestion that the end of the U.S.
troop presence in Iraq is part of a U.S. military success story ignores
the fact that the George W. Bush administration and the U.S. military
had planned to maintain a semi-permanent military presence in Iraq.

The real story behind the U.S. withdrawal is how a clever strategy of
deception and diplomacy adopted by Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki in
cooperation with Iran outmaneuvered Bush and the U.S. military
leadership and got the United States to sign the U.S.-Iraq withdrawal
agreement.


http://original.antiwar.com/porter/2...op-withdrawal/