Whether Iraq is being given back to iraqis or still is under US authority, the threat of terrorism will be there anyway.

If the Americans relinquished their powers and gave them back to the Iraqis, the Iraqis wiould be more motivated to stop terrorism as it would be their responsability.

For the time being, even moderate iraqis can blame terrorism on the american presence, which makes it less motivating for them to go after those terrorists.as they either expect the americans to do it or feel powerless because they can't control the situation.

The longer the US stays, the harder it's going to be to get out of the mess.

So much relies on psychology and terrorists know that very well and use this as a weapon.

Raoul