In his "Are 3,000 Troops Worse Than None?" (op-ed, Sept. 12) criticizing the Obama administration for wanting to leave "only" 3,000 troops in Iraq, Kenneth M. Pollack fails to note that it is the Iraqis who have demanded that all American troops get out by the end of the year. Allowing a significantly larger number to stay, as Mr. Pollack urges, would not only create significant political issues for Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki but also, as Gen. Raymond Odierno has noted, be counterproductive because the U.S. would be perceived as an occupying force.
The above excerpt was originally published in The Wall Street Journal.
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