The last US combat brigade in Iraq has left the country, seven years after the US-led invasion.

The early pull out came less than a week after Iraq's army chief warned that the planned departure of US troops would be premature and that US forces must stay "until the Iraqi army is fully ready in 2020", contradicting statements by other Iraqi leaders.

Can the Iraqi army maintain the required security in the country?

Why have the US military decided to change their priorities, and what are the likely consequences of such action?

Inside Story discusses with guests: Mahmoud Othman, a member of the Iraqi parliament; Lawrence Korb, the former US assistant secretary of defence and a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress; and Adnan Hayajneh, an associate professor of political science, Program of International Relations & Strategic Studies at the Hashemite university.

Inside Story aired from Thursday, August 19, 2010.