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BAGHDAD — The U.S. and Iraqi militaries have tentatively agreed to keep a joint base on the edge of Baghdad’s Shiite slum of Sadr City, maintaining an American presence in a strategic area even after the June 30 deadline for U.S. combat troops to pull out.
The base — Joint Security Station Comanche — is one of about 14 joint facilities that U.S. officials say privately that they would like to keep in flashpoint neighborhoods after the deadline.
The plan to maintain a few joint bases reflects an attempt to meet the overall goal of the withdrawal plan without giving Shiite and Sunni extremists an opportunity to regain a foothold in parts of the city as the Iraqis assume more responsibility.
