"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 outmanoeuvered Bush and the U.S. military leadership and got the United States to sign the U.S.-Iraq withdrawal agreement." Porter
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I agree with all of this except the role that Porter ascribes to the "US Military Leadership." The mistake there is a common one. In fact, the US military seeks to implement the elected government's policy. It does not originate policy initiatives that amount to national grand strategy. pl
http://ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=106244
