The U.S. Military Is Gone, But U.S. Drones Will Still Be Permitted To Fly In Iraq

Unmanned drones such as the Reaper have given the US an effective standoff tool for maintaining its aerial sovereignty over Iraq. Photograph: Ethan Miller/Getty Images

U.S. Drones Allowed In Iraqi Skies -- Washington Post

ANKARA, Turkey – American troops are almost gone from Iraq, but that doesn’t mean the U.S. military will cease its operations there entirely.

Baghdad has given Washington permission to keep flying Predator drones on surveillance missions over northern Iraq, Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta said Friday. The unmanned airplanes, which operate out of Incirlik Air Base in Turkey, are being used to look for fighters from the Kurdistan Worker’s Party, or PKK.

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My Comment: The Iraqi government is placating Turkey's concerns over Kurdish rebels hiding in northern Iraq .... not US concerns in the region.