To comply with current law, the US has three months to completely withdraw from Iraq. But on Tuesday Iraq’s foreign minister said he believes there will soon be a final agreement on keeping thousands of US “trainers” in Iraq past the December deadline outlined in the Status of Forces Agreement.
“We’re looking for October for these talks to move forward,” Iraq’s foreign minister Hoshyar Zebari told Associated Press. The expected green light for a remaining American presence would be the culmination of months of heavy pressure on the Iraqi leadership from an insistent Obama administration.
“I think we will get an agreement on training,” Zebari said. “How many trainers will remain in Iraq is not that important,” he said. “It’s the commitment that is very important.”
The Obama administration is considering 3,000 to 5,000 troops for an Iraqi training mission, but would it be implemented alongside an expanded diplomatic mission in Iraq, as well as a significant amount of military contractors.
At a minimum, the diplomatic and contractor presence would number over 17,000 and according to the most recent Quarterly Report of the Special Inspector General for Iraq, the Department of State “will assume primary responsibility for a planned $6.8 billion operation” carried out “from 11 locations around Iraq, including three consulates and the world’s largest embassy.”
The final decision is likely to be made by US and Iraqi officials, without the approval or consultation of the Iraqi Parliament, with some calling the Maliki government dictatorial. Shiite leaders in Iraq have vehemently rejected a US presence past December and the cleric Moqtadr al Sadr has promised to treat remaining troops as “invaders.”
Does this game of CHICKEN never end…. "”How many trainers will remain in Iraq is not that important,” he said. “It’s the commitment that is very important.”"
To get an honest count will be impossible……. unless each one has their number tattooed on their forehead…. ALSO beware "SUPPORT personnel" Three teachers may require 15,OOO for support, in a "bad" area. It's ALL bait and switch these days for the desperate empire… No Fly = Carpet Bombing. Advisers = Death Squads…. Labels mean nothing, except the opportunity to SHOW just HOW desperate and corrupt the empire is… Try spelling NATO with a swastika as the first letter..
Maliki says he doesn't need the approval of Parliament to authorize "trainers" and supposedly Maliki is in the pocket of the USG so….why is it going to take until October (there are 31 days in Oct, btw) to make a decision? Could it be that Maliki hasn't solidified his dictatorship yet? My guess is Sadr has presented Maliki with a serious problem – that Sadr will pull his faction out of the ruling coalition if Maliki goes through with this obvious ploy. Sadr has made it explicitly clear that he doesn't want ANY US troops to remain, whether they're called "trainers" or not. And having the USG banging on the table demanding that Maliki be compliant to the USG wishes is probably keeping Maliki up at night with the kaopectate.
Either Obama was hand picked by the corporate rich or by the military, either way there is no rational adult running our Empire. So, look for all our legalized killers of Iraq civilians to get a new job description come January 1, but no relief from the hell on dearth drudgery.
For there is only one way for the rich to be rich, and that is to shove drudgery upon those they make poor.
What will it take for Congress to understand that the vast majority of Iraqis hate our guts and want us out.? The only thing I can think of would be routine massive mortor barrages on the Embassy. If Maliki believes he can ignore his own Parliament, he should have a lot of body guards, because there is too much hatred toward the US and anyone perceived as being a US lacky.