'Guardedly Optimistic'

" More on our top story now US troops officially packing up and leaving the cities and towns of Iraq it's a big day for Iraqi forces a milestone marks that you time for the government country's government. For the first time since the start of the war Iraq's police and army are charged -- these urban areas. This after six years of American troops fighting and dying in Iraq and what the Iraqis called the occupation of their nation. But this does not mean the US is off Iraqi soil -- not know soldiers coming home not any of them. More than a 130000. Americans are still right there in Iraq. Heading toward summer. In fact many are staying in the cities to help train the Iraqi Security Forces. Michael O'Hanlon -- senior fellow the Brookings Institution conservatively think take it says here in Washington and he joins us live from there -- good to see Michael. I shepherd it sounds like they're going to be a police force in the shadows waiting to be called by the Iraqis is that fair and a."

" Well I think your introduction was a lot more accurate frankly than a lot of the reporting because we are getting this impression you know that American forces are somehow pulling out of the cities having been there until yesterday. And no longer being there tomorrow it's actually a much more gradual process. And it's actually not an absolute process as you say they'll be force is still involved in training. I believe some will be Manning these joint security stations these smaller patrol bases along with Iraqis. Now a lot of our bases that are in cities that sort of just outside the Saturn. We'll still be there so the equivalent of having a base in Staten Island but not Manhattan. Is essentially what's going on keeping a lot of the larger bases in the outskirts and outer parts of Baghdad and other such cities so it's a gradual process it's important. It's symbolically important but it's not really you know a dramatic change from yesterday or last week or last month so what's the biggest concern now Sunni Shia violence sectarian violence within the country. Great question you know I think that. There is the potential for that to reignite but probably not in the short term I've been reassured to see that even in these recent days of additional attacks. You haven't seen retaliation along sectarian lines for the most part. You've seen more I sat. Random isolated events but sectarian violence could return. For example a prime minister -- he doesn't do enough to bring Sunnis into the government the so called sons of Iraq who are expecting jobs and basically haven't gotten yet also up north where the Arabs Kurds and Turks all claim the same land. There could be disputes. You know I'm guardedly optimistic we got a long ways to go in this things go guardedly optimistic they were -- now of relative calm. Yeah I mean relative calmness and it's the new normal on Iraq it's got 30400 people per month die. That's still one of the more violent places on earth but it's only one hand as violent as it was before the surge so. You know pick your poison it's it's much better situation -- civil war. But it's still a very crime ridden and occasionally quite violent place Michael O'Hanlon from Brookings Institution Michael it's great to see."