Having any troops at all in Iraq is not occupying Iraq. There will likely be troops in Iraq for various reasons. For instance, helping to secure the oil fields and working with the Kurds in the northern section who actually want us there... etc.
The truth is the troops will start coming home If Ms. Clinton is elected. She's been extremely clear.
Hillary Clinton: Well my goal is to end the war when I'm President and to bring our troops home, but as has been stated in the provisions passed by both the Democratic and the Democratic Senate, we do envision a vastly reduced residual force to remain for some limited period of time to train Iraqi troops, assuming they get their act together and begin to defend themselves, to provide logistical support for counter-terrorism missions, to protect the Kurds if necessary because they have certainly fulfilled their end of the bargain as they have tried to proceed to establish an autonomous region in the north.
And that does not mean we would have a permanent force. I am absolutely clear, we do not plan a permanent occupation or permanent bases, but in line with all of the legislation that has been passed by the Democratic majority or passed when we were in the minority going all the way back to 2005, we have tried to be responsible in saying there may be some continuing missions to protect America's vital interests, and to support an Iraqi government that we hope to be an ally going forward, assuming they are acting responsibly.
So, the bottom line for me is that we will begin redeploying our troops as soon as I am President, and we will do so in as expeditious a manner as possible. We will survey the situation to determine whether there are any remaining vital security interests by 2009, and if there are among the ones I've mentioned and among the ones that appear in the legislation passed in both the House and the Senate, we will proceed to do so in as thoughtful and responsible a manner as possible with as few troops as necessary with no permanent occupation and no permanent bases.
China is paying for everything
