U.S. Military Worries Over Rapid Iraqi Pullout

BAGHDAD [MENL] -- U.S. military commanders have been concerned that a rapid
troop withdrawal could renew ethnic violence as well as the Al Qaida network
in Iraq.
Several of the commanders, who refused to identify themselves, warned
that any decision by President Barack Obama to accelerate plans for a
pullout in 2009 could destabilize the Iraqi government of Prime Minister
Nouri Al Maliki. They said Iraq's military and police were not ready to fill
the vacuum left by any U.S. troop withdrawal.
"Everybody here would love to go home and fast," a U.S. field commander
said. "But if we begin packing up now, then we can kiss two years of
relative stability goodbye and watch the disintegration of this country."