The Washingtonpost.com, August 31, 2010, has an interesting headline: Gates: All Is Not Well As Combat Role Ends, By Anne Gearan, Associated Press.
All is not well –what an understatement.
All is not well in Iraq as the U. S. formally closes down its “combat mission” there, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Tuesday, warning that political paralysis and continued sectarian violence cloud the Iraqis future.
Gates said conditions in Iraq are much better; however, as the United States shifts to an advisory role seven years after the U.S.-led invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein.
“I am not saying all is, or necessarily will be, well in Iraq,” Gates said, noting the lack of a new government more than six months after national elections, and continued sectarian tension.
“This is not a time for premature victory parades or self-congratulation, even as we reflect with pride on what our troops and their Iraqi partners have accomplished,” Gates told an American Legion audience.
Cannot understand how 50,000 U.S. troops still in Iraq will not be in “combat missions.”
