Crosshairs - Military Matters in Review
At one point American occupation of Iraq was called a "quagmire." Many mistakes were made, but America's leaders got their act together. And along with the other nations forming the "coalition of the willing," they have given some 50 million Iraqis a chance for better lives than they had any hope for just eight years ago.

The status of forces agreement effective New Years Day replaced the U.N. resolution under which the U.S. government had been operating since the invasion. The agreement says Iraq may request help from the U.S. military "for limited and temporary support" in providing security for Baghdad's Green Zone, but otherwise the 3.5-square-mile zone on the banks of the Tigris in central Baghdad has become Iraqi territory.

The Republican Palace in the zone lost its American flavor when the United States handed over security control to the Iraqi government. As the Iraqi flag was hoisted at the palace entrance, Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki said, "It is our right to consider this day the day of sovereignty and the beginning of the process of retrieving every inch of our nation's soil" He added that "The palace is the sign of Iraqi sovereignty and it is a message to all Iraqis that our sovereignty has returned."

The Americans are not leaving the Green Zone overnight. Both governments agree that the American withdrawals will be gradual. Although the zone will be run by the Iraqi Baghdad Brigade, U.S. checkpoint equipment will remain and the Iraqis will coordinate the checkpoints with American forces.

Nevertheless, the traffic light remains green, and here's why:

• In the past four months, forces from 19 coalition countries have departed the country -- Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Denmark, Georgia, Japan, Kazakhstan, Korea, Latvia, Lithuania, Macedonia, Moldova, Mongolia, Poland, Tonga and Ukraine.

• British forces have transferred control of Basra airport, a main military base in southern Iraq, to Iraqi officials.

• Britain and Australia -- which had the second and third largest contingents respectively after the United States -- have signed their own bilateral agreements with Iraq and expect to depart at the end of July.

• Under the American-Iraqi status-of-forces agreement, American combat troops will leave Iraqi cities by the end of June, and will completely clear the country by the end of 2011. Nonetheless, thousands of American uniformed troops are expected to remain behind as trainers and advisors. (Whether incoming president Barack Obama's previously announced target of May 2010 will be a factor remains to be seen.)

• The U.S. transition already has started. In an area south of Baghdad, once called "the triangle of death," a combat brigade of 4,000 to 5,000 soldiers of the 101st Airborne Division is being replaced with a task force of 800 to 1,200 trainers and advisers. Granted, there's no free lunch for some Americans, but the light remains green, and the traffic cops are changing uniforms from American to Iraqi.
  

The light was already changing before Christmas of last year. On December 21, Army Brig. Gen. David G. Perkins, a Multinational Force Iraq spokesman, reported that the number of daily attacks in Iraq had dropped nearly 95 percent since the previous year. He explained that, Iraq had suffered an average of 180 attacks per day a year earlier, but over the past week, the average number was 10. He added that the country's murder rates had dropped below levels that existed before the start of American operations in Iraq. In November, the ratio was 0.9 per 100,000 people.

Another bilateral arrangement was signed by President George W. Bush and Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki. Called the "Strategic Framework Agreement," it formalizes economic, diplomatic, cultural and security ties between the two nations. President Bush said the pact establishes a common vision for future U.S.-Iraqi relations which will bring greater stability to Iraq and the region through trade and investment.

"Throughout the past eight years, I've seen the tremendous talent and courage of those who wear the uniform," Bush said. "Their efforts have overthrown tyrants, made our nation safer, put terrorists on the run, and opened the door to liberty for more than 50 million people."

So the Green Zone handover signals an enormous success. Of course much remains to be done, and we can expect setbacks and more bloodshed, but for now the light is green.

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