Just A Little While Longer...We Promise

Here's a real shocker:

American commanders, worried about increased violence in the wake of Iraq's inconclusive elections, are now reconsidering the pace of a major troop pullout this summer, U.S. officials said Tuesday.

The withdrawal of the first major wave of troops is expected to be delayed by about a month, the officials said. Waiting much longer could endanger President Barack Obama's goal of reducing the force level from 92,000 to 50,000 troops by Aug. 31.

We will never leave there, will we? I suppose the only intriguing question left at this point is how Obama's most blindly loyal supporters will excuse yet another broken campaign promise-this time, the very important promise to end the war and bring the troops home.

More than two months after parliamentary elections, the Iraqis have still not formed a new government, and militants aiming to exploit the void have carried out attacks like Monday's bombings and shootings that killed at least 119 people — the country's bloodiest day of 2010.

Of course, we had an opportunity to allow Iraqi's elections and democracy soon after our invasion. They wanted elections, but the United States refused to let them have them because it was worried that they would elect people who weren't interested in just handing over all of Iraq's oil to Bush's friends. So we denied them the democracy that Bush claimed we were spreading, and ruled them by decree from the safety of the Green Zone. And Iraq proceeded to burn. 

The threat has prompted military officials to look at keeping as many troops on the ground, for as long as possible, without missing the Aug. 31 deadline. A security agreement between the two nations requires American troops to be out of Iraq by the end of 2011.

A lot can happen between now and then. The neo-cons are alive and well, and they have no intention of allowing America to give up its conquest in Iraq. They'll need those bases for the next war in Iran. Is there any reason to believe they won't remove the  new government from power with the excuse that it cannot maintain the peace, and forcibly install another puppet government in its place? And would anyone then be surprised to find out that that puppet government asked the Americans to stay a little longer?

I know I wouldn't.