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WOLF
BLITZER: Let's get some more now on the shifting U.S.
troops, what's going on. We'll bring in Michael Ware.
He's been on the ground for most of this time, since
the war, back in 2003.
Michael, what's the impact? This year no more troops
are coming out of Iraq. But January and February,
they're going to remove about 8,000 or so troops from
the 145,000 who are there right now.
What's the bottom line impact of this troop
withdrawal?
MICHAEL WARE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Symbolically, okay,
it makes a statement. Practically, Wolf, to be
honest, it means nothing. Even when you take out that
extra combat brigade, which is due mid-January to
February next year, that will make a total of 8,000
troops from now until then. You're still going to
have the same or even more number of U.S. boots on
Iraqi soil as you did pre-surge.
But what's changed is the nature of the battle.
Essentially, America has put on the government
payroll the bulk of the Sunni insurgency and some of
the elements of al Qaeda.
Meanwhile, it's put the bulk of the pro-Iranian
militias and their political wings into government.
So what we're seeing is that, yes, a phenomenal
downturn in violence by any of the metrics used by
the military -- between 40 and 80 percent -- violence
has plummeted.
BLITZER: Well, Michael, let me ask you...
WARE: Deaths are down. Who doesn't welcome that,
Wolf?
BLITZER: Let me interrupt you. It's one thing to say
that former Sunni insurgents in the al-Anbar
Province, for example, maybe 100,000 or so, are on
the U.S. government payroll -- about $300 per man
right now. But when you say that former al Qaeda
terrorists are on the U.S. government payroll right
now, is there hard evidence that we -- American
taxpayers -- are paying al Qaeda terrorists to be
quiet and stay on the sidelines?
WARE: Well, you're not paying them to be quiet and
stay on the sidelines. You know, you've brought them
over to the other side. And now correct me if I'm
wrong -- and I stand here to be corrected -- but I
remember a statement from President Bush himself that
those who were fighting with al Qaeda against us are
now fighting against al Qaeda with us.
And regardless, Wolf, you know, I've crossed that
line. I've been to al Qaeda training camps. I've seen
how they work. I've been to their safe houses. I know
individuals -- not just foot soldiers, not just
mid-ranking commanders, but emirs who are now on the
U.S. government payroll.
And why is that a bad thing? Because the Sunni
insurgents in Iraq were driven to al Qaeda by
American policies. The Sunni insurgency was created
because America wasn't talking to them. Right from
the beginning, in 2003, the hierarchy of the Sunni
insurgency said to me, why are we on opposite sides
here? We were allies in the '80s. We have nothing
against America. And, finally, the deal was cut. And
now you see the downturn in violence. It's not a
difficult calculation -- Wolf.
BLITZER: Michael Ware, what I don't understand and a
lot of other people don't understand, put them on the
payroll of somebody, but put them on the Iraqi
government's payroll. They have billions and billions
of dollars in surplus.
WARE: Forget about it.
BLITZER: Why do the U.S. taxpayers still have to pay
these people?
WARE: Forget about it. Forget about it. They're not
working for the Iraqi government, Wolf. They're
America's insurance policy. The Iraqi government
hates these guys. They resent their existence. They
are essentially a U.S. militia that not only went out
and assassinated al Qaeda -- because they knew where
al Qaeda slept and they're not bound by the rules of
war like the U.S. Army. But also, they are a
counterbalance for America and America's Sunni allies
-- like Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Egypt -- against the
Iranian-backed militia.
So essentially, the Sunni Awakening Councils, these
former insurgents, former al Qaeda, are your
insurance policy. You take that away, you give that
to the Iraqis -- look what's happening. Already the
U.S. military is trying to hand these fellows over to
the Iraqi government. And already, the Iraqi
government has started killing them and putting out
arrest warrants for them.
So there's no love lost between either side. I've
been with these U.S. militia. And they say we've
dealt with al Qaeda, the next enemy is this
Iranian-backed government.
So now the real test for the next president is how do
they manage this situation and keep a lid on the
conflict.
BLITZER: Michael Ware with his analysis of what's
going on.
Michael, thank you.
WARE: Thanks, mate.