A few weeks ago, President Obama announced that US forces would be leaving Iraq in accordance with the timeline that former President George W. Bush and the Iraqi Government signed. Somewhat surprisingly, Republicans running for President in 2012 were quick to criticise the move — some candidates said that a pullout was hasty and cited a provision in the agreement that said US forces would leave only if conditions on the ground allowed them to, arguing that leaving now would empower Iran’s influence on the country. But if Republicans were hoping to use the issue politically, it wasn’t a very good move.
This is a companion discussion topic for the original entry at https://talkingpointsmemo.com/?p=104927