The international press is atwitter with talk of the now nearly-finalized Iraq-US draft agreement. While it appears unlikely that the United States Senate will have any say in the deal once finalized, it would be hasty to declare such a deal inevitable.
As recently as yesterday Iraqi negotiators were demanding the right to try US troops, though at present that appears not to be part of the agreement. Private contractors on the other hand, long a contentious issue with the Iraqi Defense Ministry, reportedly would be subject to Iraqi law as the deal presently stands. There’s even a pullout date, of sorts. Under the “aspirational time horizon” of late 2011, US troops would be out of Iraq. This timeline, US officials are quick to point out, is a target rather than a hard date and subject to the achievement of certain as-yet-undefined measures of sustained progress in Iraq’s political, economic, and security situations. The Iraqi government, on the other hand, want any such deal to expire in three years, making the target date more or less firm without an additional agreement.
Even then, the deal faces an uphill battle within Iraq, with thousands of followers of Shi’ite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr taking to the streets to denounce the agreement, which they described as “a permanent colonization of Iraq”, and even the normally quiet Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani warning parliament to consider the long-term implications of any agreement. In addition, former Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari co-issued a statement with several other Members of Parliament condemning the agreement as “humiliating”.
With such a large array of opponents and skeptics, and without the option of declaring such an important deal an “executive agreement” to bypass Iraqi Parliamentary objections, the future of the security deal seems anything but assured.
compiled by Jason Ditz
It’s not even a deal to withdraw. It’s a deal to keep US troops in Iraq and, at best, move them into US bases there. Even should the US combat trrops be pulled by 2011, the remaining tens of thousands of US troops would remain. The only way all US troops will leave Iraq is when it becomes politically untenable to keep them there.
It would be a tragedy if Iraq’s people and patriots who are so close to victory and removing all of the occupation force without a Vietnam type catastrophy. Were to allow the conquest to succeed and act as a precurser to further regional and global aggression.
Damned LIARSas usual. I think I’ll make a few copies of my Army discharge so I can flush them down more toilets. Republican = liar. Get it ?? Til we finally come back with our bankrupt tails between our legs, the public will get notnhing of the truth from liars !
Enjoy the war .folks . the peace will be bean and rice for all but the red state goofies and war merchants.
See ya in hell !
Steve S
How odd that the UN approved USi to stay in Iraq until Dec.2008–just when Bush Regime is ending.
America/Uk will not leave Iraq until all the oil is gone.If their is military personnal reading this–take out Bush/Chenney please–we need a military coo to get both governments straight :^)