Iraqis starting to show a sense of independence

The U.S. military departure from Iraq will be greatly facilitated when Iraqi politicians begin to show some real backbone and start telling the U.S. what to do rather than the other way around. There have been some promising signs recently. An Associated Press article entitled "Iraqi PM insists peace is possible without U.S. - Al-Maliki claims 'full confidence' if coalition forces withdraw 'at any time'" tells us that:

Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki said Saturday that the Iraqi army and police are capable of keeping security in the country when American troops leave "any time they want," though he acknowledged the forces need further weapons and training.

A lot more progress is needed, but each little step helps.

The key is not so-called "political benchmarks" that are being dictated by the U.S., but Iraq getting up the nerve to simply tell the U.S. military to "get out."

-- Jack Krupansky