From Hard Military Bases to Soft Military Presence: US Military Deployment in Iraq Reassessed

Abstract: By the end of 2011, the US had closed all hard military bases in Iraq, but its “soft" military presence remained using private security contractors, military and intelligent officers located in the US embassy and in US consulates, US military training officers and consultants, and deployed special operation forces. Such soft military presence is of great importance and significance. At the national level, it helps Washington to stabilize and control the Iraqi situation; at the regional level, it can secure a strategic balance between Shi'a and Sunni sectors, which is essential for the US to respond to a rising nuclear Iran; at the global level, this soft military presence helps to cut US military expenditure and shift its strategic focus from the Greater Middle East to the Asia-Pacific regions. The soft military presence in Iraq reflects Obama's "New Thinking" Doctrine on military deployment in the Middle East, which resembles lily-pads with stronger mobilization and flexibility.