We’re Not Leaving Iraq, No How No Way

Well, so much for “We respect your sovereign decision to order our departure”:
The State Department on Friday rebuffed the Iraqi government’s request to begin discussions on pulling out troops, saying that any American officials going to Baghdad during a state of heightened tensions would not discuss a “troop withdrawal,” as the Iraqi prime minister had requested. Instead, discussions would be about the “appropriate force posture in the Middle East.”
So . . . that means it’s officially an occupation again?