Posted on 11/16/2008 12:27:26 PM PST by fightinJAG
A new pact that faces final approval from parliament will keep US troops in Iraq for up to three more years. By June 2009 US forces will pull back to major bases.
BAGHDAD - Iraq's cabinet overwhelmingly approved a security pact on Sunday that will enable a continued American military presence in Iraq for up to three more years, overcoming protests from hard-line Shiite nationalists and pressure from Iran to block the deal. It is expected to go before the parliament for final approval by the end of this month.
Key revisions on sovereignty issues, demanded by Iraq and accepted by the US during months of fractious negotiations, led Iraq's highest-ranking Shiite religious figure, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, to indicate over the weekend he would not object to the sweeping deal. Although the pact has experienced pockets of resistance, many Iraqis say the victory of US President-elect Barack Obama was a factor because of his promise to withdraw troops within 16 months of taking office.
The pact specifies that US units are to withdraw from Iraqi cities by June 2009, with a final countrywide pullout by the end of 2011. US diplomats have grown increasingly desperate to conclude the deal before a United Nations mandate, under which US forces currently operate, expires at the end of this year.
(Excerpt) Read more at csmonitor.com ...
Whatcha gwine do Obama?
Have they checked with the president elect?
Will they pay for those troops out of their oil money? I doubt it. Free security, sure, come on and guard us boys. But we shuuld at least make them start paying for the honor of having us there.
Iraq should “secretly” make up the proposed 1 million barrel OPEC redux, then increase production to send OPEC into a real palace property value crisis.
.73 / gallon
Tell the commision, Eddie01 has set the price.
They don’t have much choice since the UN mandate expires end of December and the US and allies would have to withdraw otherwise.
Iran doesn’t like being surrounded.
....to quote Rush, "doesn't fit the template"!
I don’t see why we give a damn about a UN mandate.
The way i read this, we got our asses kicked out of the ugrateful country. First our citizenry turns our back in our soldiers by electing the muslim, then Iraq says basically “don’t let the door hit your ass on the way out.”
You’d think that at least Iraq would step up and help pay for their freedom.
Mark my words - Iraq is going Shiite Theocracy in 2 to 5 years.
So true. They should pay and pay dearly for those who lost life and limbs protecting them.
Sorry Iraq. We voted for change and hope... and all that other stuff. Please direct your complaints to Zero.
It's currently the top story on the NYT and WaPo Web sites. It's in the top few stories on CNN, MSNBC, ABC, and CBS, and on at least some of those it was the top story earlier in the day. Just how much notice are you looking for?
Obama's proposal was to have the troops out by mid-2010. The Iraqis' planis to have them out by the end of 2011. To claim that this is a repudiation of Obama is delusional.
the turd elect will gladly remove them asap for his friends Bill Ayres, Bernadine Dohrn, Rev Wright et al.
BBC has more:
“The cabinet approved the pact after a two-and-a-half hour meeting, government spokesman Ali Dabbagh said.
All but one of the 28 ministers present had voted in favour of the pact, he added, according to the Associated Press news agency.
According to Mr Dabbagh, the agreement’s terms include:
* placing US forces in Iraq under the authority of the Iraqi government
* US forces to leave the streets of Iraq’s towns and villages by the middle of 2009
* US forces to hand over their bases to Iraq during the course of 2009”
So US forces are going to be controlled by the Iraqis?
And we just hand over all our bases to them?
No one else have any problems with this? I thought that having US troops answer to foreign military leaders was a big part of the problem with joint US-UN actions.
And now we hand over control of our troops to the IRAQIS?
Yes, and they, along with Bush, wanted him.
Oh, go bleep yourself, Peterson. This is what passes for reportage these days: Mind-reading and editorializing where previously, mere facts would suffice.
The Monitor, formerly a daily and now thankfully a weekly, seems firmly on the way to becoming a neverly.
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