Does the withdrawal of the American troops from Iraq mean less American commitment to Kuwait’s security?
Ambassador Jones: No — in a word no, not at all. Kuwait is a strategic partner, and it is an indispensible ally and will continue to be strategically important regionally, and [it is in a] sometimes volatile region, so no; but, let me say something about the timeline too. What we [are] talking about, we are looking at: how do we end the conflict in Iraq through a transition to full Iraqi responsibility for security in Iraq? Obviously, the first part of that transition is the removal of our combat brigades and President Obama has announced the timeline that will remove all of our combat brigades by August 31, 2010. That is our combat mission. Certainly, all of this is done in consultation and with the approval of the government of Iraq. I mean, this is all negotiated out. Under the Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA), the intent is that all U.S. troops will be removed by the end of 2011. Only if the Government of Iraq comes to us and says “would you keep a group here for training?” or fo
Related Questions
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- Does the withdrawal of the American troops from Iraq mean less American commitment to Kuwait’s security?
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