It’s been five years since the U.S. moved into Iraq, driving Saddam Hussein out of power and plunging the country into a crisis that is yet to end and is unprecedented even from the Middle Eastern standards. ...

The Iraqi government and both Sunni and Shia political players in the country have voiced their concerns over the total control the U.S. will continue to have over the country’s security establishment, especially the continued presence of US troops in the country into an indefinite future. ...

Having invaded and wrecked Iraq, the U.S. can’t just cut and run. It has to do its best to stabilize and rebuild Iraq and put a stable and self-reliant government in Baghdad before pulling out. But this cannot come at the expense of Iraq’s sovereignty and unity. The U.S. may have to stick around in Iraq for some years to come but its role must be that of a facilitator, not an occupier and overbearing master.

This is why the Nuri Al Maliki government is right to insist on the condition that the U.S. troops in future would be confined to their bases and that private security players would be governed by the Iraqi law. This is necessary if the U.S. wants to continue a healthy relationship with Iraq and its people, similar to what the Americans had with post-war Germany and Japan. This is all the more important given the blunders the U.S. has repeatedly made in Iraq since the invasion. This is essential to regaining the confidence of Iraqi people, and that of the Arab and Muslim world.

Khaleej Times, Dubai, United Arab Emirates

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