More on Maliki’s Openness to U.S. Troops Post-2011

Eli Lake at The Washington Times builds on yesterday’s comments from Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki that U.S. troops might be welcome in some form in Iraq after the 2011 deadline for their withdrawal set in the Status of Forces Agreement. He quotes Kenneth Katzman of the Congressional Research Service:

“It would also appear to indicate that Prime Minister Maliki’s confidence in the Iraqi Security Force’s ability to handle security on their own is in doubt. He is not completely confident of their ability to handle security on their own.”

Also in Eli’s story, John Nagl of the Center for a New American Security is surprised only by the fact that Maliki said this before the January elections.

And don’t miss Maliki’s answer to Eli’s question about the recently-released prisoner Laith Qazali, a Shiite terrorist whom the U.S. military accused of planning the murder of five soldiers in 2007.