Victory lap

“Gates, in Iraq valedictory, points to progress

By Craig Timberg, Thursday, April 7, 7:12 PM

BAGHDAD — It was a beautiful day in Baghdad — the sun bright and warm but not searing — as Robert M. Gates waxed nostalgic about his last visit to the nation that, more than any other, is likely to define his legacy as defense secretary.

 “When I took this job, I was asked what my agenda was, and I said, ‘Iraq, Iraq and Iraq.’ And political heat was quite hot in Washington. Things were not going well here,” Gates, dressed in khakis and an open-collared dress shirt, told a group of journalists Thursday. “When I gave my first press conference here in December of 2006, there was a firefight going on overhead and in the background. And then in the spring, we were losing up to 140 soldiers and Marines a month. It was a very tough time.”

He said the change since then has been “night and day.” Gates made similar points throughout the day as the Iraqi leg of a five-day Middle Eastern visit took on the feel of a valedictory tour. He told Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki that “a lot has changed for the better.” And when Gates reminded President Jalal Talabani that he had visited Iraq many times as defense secretary, Talabani replied, “Yes, I remember.”

Iraq is hardly a bastion of peace as it prepares for the withdrawal of U.S. troops amid lingering security concerns and political turmoil. The government does not have defense or interior ministers. There have been street protests in recent months. And the military has such substantial shortages in air power and other basics that U.S. officials worry openly that it couldn’t fight off a foreign enemy.

Yet for all the uncertainty, Baghdad no longer ranks among the region’s most troubled capitals. As Gates noted wryly, his agenda now overflows with concerns about Libya, Afghanistan, Egypt, Bahrain and more.

What’s left of the U.S. military presence here — about 47,000 troops, less than a third of its peak — is preparing to leave by the end of the year. Since the halting of combat operations last year, there have been 12 American deaths, equal to the toll of a few ordinary days during the height of the fighting.”