Today's the supposed big day: U.S. troops are withdrawing from Iraqi cities. While U.S. troops step down, Iraqi troops are supposed to step up. But can they?

Secretary Clinton is confident they can. In a press briefing yesterday, she said, "[T]here is a great deal of confidence in the fundamental ability of the Iraqis to begin to protect their citizens." She added that despite the bombings of the last few weeks, "our assessment is that the Iraqis are ready, willing, and able to step up to this."

She -- seen above with Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari in Baghdad on April 25 -- called the withdrawal a "significant milestone in the responsible withdrawal of our forces from Iraq and in Iraq's journey to become a stable, sovereign, self-reliant state."

FP Best Defense blogger Thomas Ricks, however, doesn't share Clinton's confidence. Yesterday he wrote:

Yes, Iraqi units are better trained and equipped than in the past. But that was never the problem. Rather, the point of failure was political. Sunni death squads and Shiite militias knew what they were fighting for, while an Iraqi soldier didn't necessarily.

He ends ominously:

I hope I am wrong, and that Iraq really is embarking on a new course this week. But I don't think so. So I think the real question now is: How fast will the unraveling occur?

What's Clinton going to do if Iraq does unravel? She said the United States remains prepared to help out if needed. Obviously, she's constrained by whatever President Obama wants to do, but if -- heaven forbid -- Iraq falls apart, she'll be facing some pretty tough questions at her future news conferences.

Photo: Hadi Mizban-Pool/Getty Images

Just when we thought Clinton would only be making 57,622 miles of foreign trips in her first 100 days as secretary of state, she made a surprise trip to Iraq and Lebanon this weekend. (Above, she speaks with Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, right, with an interpreter's assistance.)

This trip came right after four suicide bombings in two days killed more than 160 people in Iraq. Was this supposed to be a "Hillary to the rescue" moment? Secretary Clinton played down the spike in violence, however, reports the Washington Post. She told reporters that the suicide bombings were "a signal that the rejectionists fear Iraq is going in the right direction" and that there was "no sign" sectarian violence was flaring up again. For the sake of Iraq, let's hope those comments don't end up being vaguely reminiscent of when former U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney in 2005 said the Iraqi insurgency was "in the last throes."

At a town hall-type meeting, she sought to reassure Iraqis of the United States' commitment to their country, even as U.S. forces are set to withdraw from Iraqi cities in two months and the number of U.S. troops in the country is planned to plunge from about 140,000 to 50,000 or even fewer by the summer of next year.

One human rights activist told Clinton, it "looks like to us that the situation of Iraq is not so important or it's not in the same level of importance for the new administration."

In her response, Clinton said, "[We] are very committed, but the nature of our commitment may look somewhat different because we're going to be withdrawing our combat troops over the next few years." She emphasized that the United States should provide greater support for civilian projects.

Added to the fact that the United States is also bogged down with its Great Recession and problems in Afghanistan and Pakistan, it's understandable that Clinton's remarks sound contradictory. U.S. troops are going to be leaving while suicide bombings just spiked, and Clinton said the United States is as committed as ever.

One Iraqi journalist told Clinton: "[F]rankly, some people are afraid and concerned what will happen as a result of that withdrawal. … [T]here are so many people here and so many citizens who do not have enough trust and confidence in the Iraqi forces."

What a situation Clinton has inherited. What would you do if you were Hillary?

Photo: Iraqi Prime Minister office via Getty Images