http://news.linktv.org Link TV News Videos (Filtered by topics: John Fisher Burns) en-us Thu, 03 Nov 2011 00:00:00 -0700 Copyright 2011 Link Media, Inc. http://news.linktv.org/videos/mosaic-news-110311?start=1337 <p>Pro-democracy activists in Bahrain stage "Flood Manama 3", "Freedom Waves" flotilla sets sail to besieged Gaza, Libya continues to face medical shortages, and more.</p> Thu, 03 Nov 2011 00:00:00 -0700 http://news.linktv.org/videos/mosaic-news-110311 Israel, Iran, Protest, Military strike, 2011 Libyan Uprising, Libya, Nuclear program of Iran, Gaza, Israel Defense Forces, Civilian casualties Presenter, Female #1 US public and political circles have warned that the US troop withdrawal from Iraq is premature because it will leave a security void in the country. Presenter, Male #1 Meanwhile, some Americans support the deployment of US forces in the Arab Gulf countries in order to maintain security in the region. Reporter, Female #2 The painful Iraq war will be over in nine weeks. This is the overall reaction of the American public. However, American newspapers and politicians in Washington believe that the decision was premature, as the US troop withdrawal from Iraq by the end of the year will likely leave a large security vacuum in the region. Time magazine reported that the US must bolster its number of forces in Kuwait, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar, in order to maintain a power balance in the region, especially amid claims that the US is delivering Iraq on a sliver platter to Iran. Meanwhile, experts in Washington believe that the US will not abandon Iraq and will not allow anyone to shake its stability. Guest, Male #2 Even though US troops will be pulled out of Iraq, the US will increase the number of its forces in the Gulf in order to reinforce security in the region. For example, there are ground and air forces deployed in Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Oman, and Bahrain. The US administration is trying to deliver a message to Tehran that the US presence will remain in the region. Reporter, Female #2 However, in a New York Times article entitled "A complicated close for U.S. in Iraq," John F. Burns argued that while the security situation in Iraq may not meet US ambitions, it's still balanced to a large degree. Burns added that previous arguments about the eruption of a civil war or the emergence of a new dictator are no longer sound, adding that Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki insists that the new Iraqi institutions, including the armed forces and the supremacy of parliament, are sufficiently rooted deep within Iraqi society. Guest, Male #3 There appears to be a school of thought here in the US, as seen in US media, which believes Iraq is stable and nothing will change that. However, other schools believe that Iraq is not stable and that it is possible the situation may even get worse. For example, from the US perspective, the regime may change from a democratic to an authoritarian or military system. Some expect the security situation to take a turn for the worse after the withdrawal of US forces from Iraq; then later it may either improve or deteriorate further. So there appear to be three schools of thought in the analysis of Iraq's future in the aftermath of the US troop withdrawal from the country. Reporter, Female #2 Most US newspapers confirmed that the US withdrawal decision was an Iraqi internal affairs issue, and that Iraq's future and security hinges on the performance of the government in Baghdad. They added that Washington will continue to monitor the situation remotely, especially considering the US has used everything in its power, including lives and money, to compensate for its mistake of occupying Iraq, according to some. They say, however, that Washington will not abandon democracy in Iraq.