re: "Last Men Out"

Lex at Neptunus Lex ("The unbearable lightness of Lex.") notes the difficulties of a withdrawal under fire.

Money quote(s):

"The Status of Forces agreement George Bush negotiated with the government of Iraq expires in December, in anticipation of a withdrawal of US troops. The USG has dropped heavy hints over the last six months that the Department of Defense was amenable to leaving behind some significant military forces in Iraq to safeguard the country’s borders and continue the training and logistical support of the Iraqi Army."

That's not going to be politically possible, in either the U.S. or Iraq, even if there was a will to do it in Washington. Is there?

"$120K per “friendly” tribal chief per year may be cheap against the cost of a $400K MRAP, not to mention the human cost.

But .50 cal ammunition is pretty cheap too."

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It seems very unlikely that a U.S. military member will be the United States' "last man out" of Iraq.

Why?

Stay tuned.