Change Is In The Air With New Iraq Accord -- A Commentary

Santa Claus interacts with boys and girls that participate in the Boy Scouts and Girl Guides clubs on Forward Operating Base Liberty, Iraq, Dec. 20, 2008. U.S. servicemembers, who volunteer to help teach the children team-building skills during their weekly meetings, handed out gifts to celebrate the holiday season. U.S. Army photo by Spc. Joshua Powell

From The Philadelphia Inquirer:

BAGHDAD - America's relationship with Iraq will undergo a sea change next week.

On New Year's Day, the status-of-forces agreement recently signed by Washington and Baghdad will take effect. From that day on, Iraq must sign off on all U.S. military operations. The accord also calls for all U.S. combat troops to withdraw from Iraqi cities by June 30, and for all U.S. forces to leave the country "no later than Dec. 31, 2011."

Already, one can see signs of change on the streets of Baghdad. U.S. convoys appear far less often, while the Iraqi police and army man innumerable checkpoints and wheel about in cruisers with sirens blaring. Meantime, joint U.S.-Iraqi committees are laboring to work out the details of the transition.

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