Still Fighting In Iraq, Folks

Five US soldiers dead in Mosul today. Meanwhile, Gen. Ray Odierno says that gosh, we may just have to miss out June 30 deadline to withdraw our combat troops in Iraq...

US troop numbers in Mosul and Baqubah, in the north of the country, could rise rather than fall over the next year if necessary, General Ray Odierno told The Times in his first interview with a British newspaper since taking over from General David Petraeus in September.

He said that a joint assessment would be conducted with the Iraqi authorities in the coming weeks before a decision is made.

Combat troops are due to leave all Iraqi cities by the end of June. Any delay would be a potential setback for President Obama, who has pledged to withdraw all combat forces from Iraq by August 2010 as he switches his focus to Afghanistan.

The ultimate decision on keeping or withdrawing troops would be taken by Nouri al-Maliki, the Iraqi Prime Minister, handing him a big dilemma, given the desire by most Iraqis for the US military to leave the country.

Tens of thousands of supporters of Moqtada al-Sadr, the anti-American Shia cleric, marched through Baghdad yesterday, the sixth anniversary of the fall of the capital, to demand the withdrawal of US forces.

So when do have more violence in Iraq, with our troops leaving, or our troops missing the dealine and staying in places like Mosul? Can the al-Maliki government possibly survive us leaving, or will it not survive us staying?

Nobody could have predicted, etc...