This marked the first time over the last two years that a senior Iraqi
official called for a long-term U.S. military presence in Iraq. All U.S.
combat forces were scheduled to leave Iraq by Aug. 31,
leaving 50,000 American support personnel. Officials reported a current U.S.
military presence of 64,000 troops.
In remarks on Aug. 11, Zebari warned that Iraq would face a security
crisis. He cited the prospect of instability as early as 2012, when the U.S.
military was scheduled to leave Iraq.
"At this point, the [U.S.] withdrawal is going well, because they are
still here," Zebari told Agence France Presse said. "But the problem will
start after 2011. The politicians must find other ways to fill the void
after 2011 because the Army will be fully ready in 2020."
Officials said the military has assessed that it would reach
self-sufficiency to battle the insurgency in Iraq by the time all U.S.
troops leave in late 2011. But they said Iraq would remain vulnerable to
foreign attack as well as insurgency infiltration from neighboring Iran and
Syria.
A key Iraqi project called for the procurement of up to 100 F-16
multi-role fighters by 2020. Officials said the first combat aircraft, identified as
the F-16 Block 52+ by Lockheed Martin, were scheduled to arrive in 2013.