Asked how long US soldiers would stay in Iraq, Bremer said that was a question for the Iraqis to answer, once a sovereign government takes hold.
"I don't know if they'll want to have American troops here after they're sovereign or not. My guess is they probably will."
Great. So, in other words, we'll be there at least until we create a "sovereign government" that is both friendly to the US and not democratic enough to allow for Islamic law. In the meantime, Bremer, by saying that the US will stay until a "soveriegn" government is in place, can use that argument to ignore the pleas of the acting Iraqi coalition government to get the UN involved in Iraq so US troops can leave as soon as possible.
Once this future "soveriegn" (read "puppet") government is established, the US will do its best to keep military bases there until they can no longer bribe/threaten the Iraqis into letting us stay.
Something tells me that someone in the government is planning for the US to be there a *LONG* time. How long? Think Korea long... some wars never end, especially when you do your best not to let them.
Still, with that in mind, I suspect Bush will try to find a way to withdraw substantial numbers of troops sometime before the next election...
