A Sovereign Iraq

With all this wrangling over what to do with our troops in Iraq ... do we "increase troop strength", "withdraw", "redeploy" ... I think we're forgetting that Iraq is a sovereign country. It's entirely their decision what to allow American troops to do in their country, and when to ask them to leave.

Last week, when Bush was asked about a timetable for troop withdraw, he replied, "When our commanders on the ground tell me that Iraqi forces can defend their freedom, our troops will come home."

Am I the only one who thinks that this decision doesn't lie with our commanders, but with the Iraqi people? How would we feel if China decided to deploy troops in the US to control our human rights abuses? Would we just let them patrol our streets until their commanders deemed it an appropriate time to leave? Just what does it mean to be sovereign anyway?

Speaking of our troops leaving, The Ostroy Report raises a trenchant question in his post:
Is Bush Set to Do an About-Face on His Misguided "Stay the Course" Policy By Withdrawing Troops In Time For '06 Midterms?

Boy, would it be suspicious if the Iraqi government asked our troops to leave in time for our midterm elections. The war hawks would have their out.