Pentagon Expects Long-Term Access to Four Key Bases in Iraq:
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These goals do not contradict the administration’s official policy of rapid withdrawal from Iraq, officials say. The United States is acutely aware that the growing American presence in the Middle East and Southwest Asia invites charges of empire-building and may create new targets for terrorists. …
In addition to tamping down public anxiety over possible military action against Syria, or even Iran, officials are quick to assert that these two nations have the most significant vote on whether the United States will ever apply the template of “regime change” in Iraq to them.
“This does not mean, necessarily, that other governments have to fall,” one senior administration official said. “They can moderate their behavior.”
Administration officials express keen awareness that they must show humility, and not hubris, in the aftermath of their quick victory in Iraq. “We need to be flexible, and modulate our actions according to the political interests of our allies,” said one senior administration official.