U.S. set to leave Iraq, continue war efforts in Afghanistan, Pakistan: expert

WASHINGTON, Nov. 5 (Xinhua) -- The United States is set to withdraw all troops from Iraq by the end of 2011 while continuing war efforts in Afghanistan and Pakistan (AfPak) despite recent high-profile attacks in all these countries, an expert said.

IRAQ, AFPAK "SIGNIFICANTLY DIFFERENT"

"I want to draw a very strong distinction between what is going on in Iraq and then what is going on in AfPak," Thomas Sanderson, Deputy Director of the Transnational Threats Project at Washington thinktank Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) told Xinhua in a recent interview.

"I think the Iraq bombings are related to internal matters in Iraq and not to the United States," he said.

"In Afghanistan and Pakistan, those attacks are much more closely associated with U.S. and Pakistani efforts to destroy insurgents and terrorists, which is al-Qaida," said the expert.

Recently, a series of high-profile violent attacks rocked Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan, which raised doubts on U.S. President Barack Obama's ongoing efforts to shift U.S. counterterrorism focus from Iraq to AfPak.

However, Sanderson pointed out that the wars in Iraq and AfPak are "significantly different" and there is no turning-back for Obama to reverse his course in the two regions.

Asked about whether the attack in Iraq would affect Obama's policy in AfPak, the expert replied with "not at all."

"The fact that the bombings took place in Iraq doesn't necessarily impact our near-term issues in AfPak," he said.

　　IRAQ WITHDRAWAL DELAY "UNLIKELY"

"The bombing in Iraq, I believe, is about a power struggle within Iraq," said Sanderson.

"The United States is going to leave (Iraq) at the end of 2011 regardless of whether this kind of attacks will continue," he said, referring to the agreement reached by U.S. and Iraqi governments on withdrawing all U.S. troops from Iraq by Dec. 31, 2011.

"The United States can't remain in that country simply because there are battles between Sunnis and Shiites factions," the expert added.

He said the scenario that U.S. withdrawal would be delayed by bombing is "unlikely to be true."

"In the minds of Americans, we are finished in Iraq. We are moving out. I don't think at all that American people would consider extending our stay in Iraq. People believe we are finished there and we are in the process of leaving," said Sanderson.

"To reverse that would be a dramatic political development and very damaging to those in the U.S. government who would support that," he noted.

The bombing could impact tactical decisions on the grounds, but it will not prevent U.S. troops from pulling out of Iraq at the end of 2011, the expert added.