Despite protestations to the contrary, a new poll of 22 countries undertaken by BBC World Service indicates that many people believe the US intends to install permanent bases in Iraq. An average of 49 percent holds this belief, compared to about 36 percent that believe the US will withdraw all its forces once Iraq becomes stabilized. Among the countries with the most respondents believing that the US intends a permanent presence in Iraq are Mexico (75 percent), Italy 73 percent), Egypt (68 percent), Turkey (64 percent), and Germany and France (59 percent). (Read detailed findings here.)
U.S. Southern Command recently announced its first lethal strike on a suspected narco-trafficking vessel in two months, and the first under a newly formed permanent counter-cartel task force. The U.S. is also reportedly planning to transfer MQ-9 drones to Colombia to bolster its counter-cartel efforts.