•    HOME   
•    NEWS   
•    BUSINESS   
•    INTERNATIONAL   
•    TECH   
•    SPORTS   
•    LIFE & TIMES   
•    OPINION   
•    MY JAKARTA   
•    BLOGS   

Baghdad. The last US combat brigade pulled out of Iraq at dawn on Thursday, a key milestone in the withdrawal of American forces more than seven years after the US-led invasion ousted dictator Saddam Hussein.

Under the cover of night, the 4th Stryker Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division, crossed into neighboring Kuwait ahead of the planned declaration of an end to US combat operations here by Aug. 31.

The pullout came two days after a suicide bomber killed 59 people at a Baghdad army recruitment center in Iraq’s deadliest attack this year, sparking concern the country’s forces are incapable of handling security alone.

“Yes, they did,” Lieutenant Colonel Eric Bloom said when asked if the brigade had entered Kuwait. “The last one crossed at about 6 a.m. They have a few more days to clean equipment, prepare the equipment, get it ready for shipment and then they’ll fly out.”

About 56,000 US troops remain in Iraq, with that figure set to drop to 50,000 by Sept. 1, less than a third of the peak during the “surge” of 2007.

Then, the American mission in Iraq will be rechristened Operation New Dawn, from Operation Iraqi Freedom.

“It is about a transition to a change of mission, going from combat operations to stability operations,” Maj. Gen. Stephen Lanza said.

To fill the gap left by departing troops, the US State Department is planning to more than double the number of security contractors employed in Iraq to 7,000.

The pullout coincides with the arrival of James Jeffrey, the new US ambassador to Iraq, who presented his credentials this week to the conflict-torn nation’s president, Jalal Talabani.

Jeffrey’s arrival comes during a political deadlock in Iraq, with no new government having yet formed after elections in March, and in the middle of the holy month of Ramadan, when insurgent attacks typically peak.

A spike in violence and the suicide attack on Tuesday blamed on Al Qaeda have sparked disquiet over the readiness of Iraqi forces.

“We as Iraqis — the government and the parliament — did not do anything to prepare ourselves for this responsibility,” said Hamid Fadhel, a political scientist at Baghdad University.

“This is an irresponsible withdrawal; there are dangers to do with security of the country, concerns and fears for Iraq’s external security, because of the lack of a military that is able to protect the country.”

State Department spokesman Philip Crowley described the end of combat operations as a “historic moment,” but stressed America’s long-term commitment to Iraq was unwavering.

 

Agence France-Presse