Officials Expect Maliki to Reverse Stance on US Troops Staying in Cities
Statements "for Public Consumption"
The issue of the US intention to keep troops in Iraq’s cities in spite of the Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) requiring that they leave by the end of June and despite opposition from Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki is much ado about nothing, officials insist.
US and Iraqi officials are now saying that Maliki’s statements are meant “for public consumption,” and that he is “fully aware of the need for a US presence in those places.” US military officials have been saying for months that the deadline was unlikely to be met, but the dramatic increase in violence across the nation over the past two months has added to speculation that the US might ultimately keep significant numbers of troops in several cities, including the capital of Baghdad.
The clash over the June 30 deadline has been rather more vocal in recent weeks, with Maliki publicly saying over the weekend that the troop pullout would not harm security and US commander General Ray Odierno confirming that, depsite objections, some number of troops would remain in Baghdad and Mosul. Gen. Odierno was decidedly curt when asked about the insurgency, declaring “it’s not going to end, OK?”
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Tiddlywinks
May 14th, 2009 at 9:08 am
Testing
Bijan
May 14th, 2009 at 5:49 pm
If you are from the right groups you would think that USA is occupying Iraq, Afghanistan and later Iran, Syria and rest of the middle east and later African horn and the countries there .., that is because US wants to implement democracy..? If you were from the middle left, you would think that the occupation is a good idea because the fight is there and not at home and that US Army is teaching something to Iraqi people..? If you are little bit more to the left of the middle lefts you think that driving a SUV is actually a safe thing to do and therefore the occupation and all the fabricated wars been a good idea for democracy.
Let me ask you this.., Japan, Germany, England, Italy and many other democratized countries after 50 years are still occupied by the US militarism system and if you thought for a moment that from the date in 2003 when US and British army entered Iraq the idea of coming out of Iraq hade been on the agenda of Tony Blair or George W. Bush then you are dead wrong..,
Bijan
May 14th, 2009 at 5:49 pm
USA is considering these countries as his and would not let them go ,, no matter if there is democrats or a republican president in the office…, beside what can he do.., he will follow the militarism system and their recommendations…The imperialism that almost every one of you been talking about since the beginning of the war but with a different tone of voice.., like emperor, empire is right here front of you but it has changed the color of the flag and that is the only thing that’s been changed.., its called the color of liberalism.., but not the actual liberty for the Iraqi people or Afghanis and working man and women in US from the capitalism system which is the cause of all the wars and economic problems and etc.., just another naïve liberalism and its social psychological warfare effect on the people to be moor lambed as before.
Bijan
May 14th, 2009 at 5:58 pm
and if your answer is that NATO is the reason for the US army occupying European countries.., let me put it to you like this.., NATO is another militarism tool used by the US and Europeans to implement their side of agendas in occupied countries…, Do you remember Yugoslavia and Balkan wars…, it was Madeline Albright, Bill Clinton and Tony Blair among others whom were involved…, and many of the “liberated” and manufactured and democratized countries in Balkans are still occupied by the US and Europeans militarism system…