Will U.S. Forces Remain In Iraq?

U.S. Army Pfc. John Henry assigned to the 0832 Military Transition Team, 3rd Heavy Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, takes a short break while conducting a joint clearing operation with Iraqi army soldiers from 3rd Company, 2nd Battalion, 32nd Infantry Brigade, 8th Iraqi Army Division in Ali Shaheen, Iraq, March 7, 2008. U.S. Army Sgt. Timothy Kingsto

General: Time Running Out For Iraq To Ask U.S. Forces To Stay -- Washington Post

A top American general in Iraq said Wednesday that as U.S. troop withdrawals continue, it will be more and more difficult to change direction if the Baghdad government decides toward the end of the year that it wants some American forces to stay behind.

“There is paralysis at the strategic level,” Lt. Gen. Frank G. Helmick, the deputy commanding general of U.S. Forces-Iraq, told reporters in a telephone briefing. He said that so far he has gotten no official word on reaching a new agreement on troops from Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, who is serving as minister of defense and minister of interior while those posts remain vacant.

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Update #1: Army on course to leave Iraq by December -- Army.mil
Update #2: Small U.S. force to stay in Iraq after 2011 deadline: report -- Xinhuanet

My Comment: My prediction ..... approximately 10,000 U.S. troops will remain in Iraq after this year.