Below is Article 24 from the Status of Forces Agreement, which gives a timeline close to what he is to announce. By ignoring the Status of Forces Agreement as a clear validation of victory, and instead making a pronouncement on troop withdrawls, Obama and his cohorts are able to deny they were wrong. The article also says combat brigades, and a lot of forces are not part of combat brigades.
My take on this was the letter following the agreement article, which never saw the light of day, because only the shoe incident was part of the news cycle.
Here is a link to the entire agreement when you click on the PDF file: http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=status+forces+agreement+text&btnG=Google+Search&aq=f&oq
Article 24
Withdrawal of the United States Forces from Iraq
Recognizing the performance and increasing capacity of the Iraqi Security Forces, the
assumption of full security responsibility by those Forces, and based upon the strong
relationship between the Parties, an agreement on the following has been reached:
1. All the United States Forces shall withdraw from all Iraqi territory no later than
December 31, 2011.
2. All United States combat forces shall withdraw from Iraqi cities, villages, and
localities no later than the time at which Iraqi Security Forces assume full responsibility
for security in an Iraqi province, provided that such withdrawal is completed no later than
June 30, 2009.
3. United States combat forces withdrawn pursuant to paragraph 2 above shall be
stationed in the agreed facilities and areas outside cities, villages, and localities to be
designated by the JMOCC before the date established in paragraph 2 above.
The Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) portends victory. Iraq and U.S. as two sovereign, and coequal countries agreed on ways forward implementing U.N. principles and purposes. Iraqi pragmatic evaluations of conditions lead talks for disengagement: not U.S. election cycle driven timelines.
General Petraeus testified the surge would execute proven counterinsurgency tactics “to improve the security for the people of Iraq in order to give Iraqi leaders the time and space they need to come to grips with tough political issues”. Throughout 2008 Iraqi people and leaders experienced deliverance from lives dominated by assassins stalking them and their families. They witnessed national institution ascendance in providing personal and material security.
Persistence for Iraq representative government thwarted al Qaeda determination that Babylon becomes the Caliphate rallying point. In Iraq, U.S. earned credibility as a counter force to all horrid factions applying murderous coercion when striving to dominate African, Oriental, and Asian politics.
Invigorating new allies’ confrontational initiatives brings Global War on Terror victory by frustrating plans, breaking alliances, and fracturing jihadist organizations into ever less effective units. Without cities, countries or armies bin Laden, successor sociopath prophets, and tyrants they empower only dream of conquest as they suffer unnaturally shortened lives as pariahs.
Yet administration leaders Obama, Biden and Clinton voted for removing most troops by April 2008, and preventing this victory. Their behavior portends traditional ally abandonment. Their actions portend escaping commitment, and reviving self-congratulatory righteousness within elegant foreign policies redefining national interest, proportional response, multi-lateralism, re-deployment and exit strategy.
Thanks for the info. I am sure Zero is trying to take credit for it all as well, but with his signal that his timeline will be shorter than the Official Status Agreement, he is also sending AQ a clear message. My question is how can Obama just ignore an agreement between Iraq already made by President Bush? Isn’t this like a treaty which can not be undone by subsequent Presidents?
Thanks RM. Zero is going to royally screw the whole works up that is for sure. And he surely has not a clue as how military must plan counter insurgency campaigns and it appears does not heed the warnings of those that know how to proceed in Afghanistan, nor how to maintain the many meet goals in Iraq.