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Panetta airs frustration over Iraq
Posted: 11:13 AM, July 11, 2011
BAGHDAD -- Visiting US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta delivered a blunt message Monday to the Iraqi government, which has frustrated the Pentagon by deliberating for months about whether to ask the US to keep some of its troops in the country beyond Dec. 31: "Dammit, make a decision."
Panetta, speaking to American troops in Baghdad, also stepped up public pressure on Iraq to do more to stem attacks on US troops by Iran-backed Iraqi militias, saying the US would "push the Iraqis to take on the responsibility" but would also "do what we have to do unilaterally" to protect American lives.
Panetta's first war zone tour as Pentagon chief has been punctuated by frequent moments of remarkable candor, as well as by some statements that the defense secretary himself or his spokesman sought to clarify or retract soon after Panetta said them.
During the meeting with American troops, Panetta appeared to reprise a contentious argument used by senior members of the Bush administration to justify the 2003 invasion of Iraq. "The reason you guys are here is because on 9/11 the United States got attacked and 3,000 … innocent human beings got killed because of al Qaeda, and we've been fighting, you know, as a result of that," Panetta said in response to a question from one soldier.
Assertions about Iraq's ties to al Qaeda in the run-up to the 2003 invasion have been widely dismissed, and Panetta and his spokesman said after his remarks to the troops that the secretary was not trying to advance that rationale.
The confusion over what Panetta meant followed similar incidents in Afghanistan, which he visited over the weekend. There, Panetta made statements, which aides subsequently sought to clarify or retract, about how many troops would remain in Afghanistan through the end of 2014. Panetta said 70,000 would remain but Wilson said he misspoke.
Panetta's blunt talk about Iraq's delay in asking some US troops to stay in the country after Dec. 31 reflects Pentagon concerns that Baghdad will wait until the last minute to decide.
In keeping with a US-Iraqi agreement, the Pentagon plans to withdraw the 46,000 US troops it currently has in Iraq by the end of December unless the Iraqi government formally asks for some to remain longer to assist with security and training. US officials have said preliminary talks have centered on keeping about 10,000 American troops in Iraq beyond this year.
Panetta commended the Iraqis and the government of Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki for fostering democratic institutions since the fall of longtime dictator Saddam Hussein.
But Panetta said the sometimes slow-moving decision-making process in Iraq can be "frustrating" for the US, which has also been waiting for the appointment of a new Iraqi defense minister.
"I'd like things to move a lot faster here, frankly, in terms of the decision-making process. I'd like them to make the decision, you know: Do they want us to stay? Don't they want us to stay? Do they want to have, you know, a minister of defense or don't they want to get a minister of defense?" Panetta said. "But dammit, make a decision."
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