BAGHDAD, Oct. 22 (UPI) -- Officials say it's still possible the United States will wind up with a residual military presence in Iraq despite the announced year-end pullout.
Over the past year, negotiations between officials in Washington and in Baghdad about several thousand troops remaining in Iraq to help maintain the Iraqi government's stability and train Iraqi soldiers were unsuccessful, leading to President Barack Obama's announcement that all American troops will be out of Iraq by the end of the year, The New York Times reported.
But there are Iraqi military and political leaders who desire a U.S. presence. Gen. Babakir Zebari, the chief of staff of the Iraqi army, has previously said U.S. troops should stay until 2020 and issued a statement saying U.S. trainers are still needed.
"As we said before, the [Status of Force Agreement] is totally different from the trainers issue, which is still under negotiation, because we have said that there is a necessity for trainers," said Sami al-Askari, a member of the Iraqi Parliament.
Should a deal be struck between the two countries after Iraq is free of occupation, as many as 5,000 troops will be sent to Iraq, the Times said.
"We're prepared to meet their training needs, we're prepared to engage in exercises with them, we're prepared to provide guidance and training with regard to their pilots, we're prepared to continue to develop an ongoing relationship with them in the future," Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said.
