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Iraq prime minister: Immunity issue scuttled U.S. troop deal
Associated Press ^ | Saturday, October 22, 2011 | Lara Jakes and Rebecca Santana

Posted on 10/23/2011 2:19:42 PM PDT by Hunton Peck

BAGHDAD (AP) — Iraq’s prime minister said Saturday that U.S. troops are leaving Iraq after nearly nine years of war because Baghdad rejected American demands that any U.S. military forces to stay would have to be shielded from prosecution or lawsuits.

The comments by Nouri al-Maliki, a Shiite, made clear that it was Iraq who refused to let the U.S. military remain under the Americans’ terms.

A day earlier, President Barack Obama had hailed the troops’ withdrawal as the result of his commitment — promised shortly after taking office in 2009 — to end the war that he once described as “dumb.”

“When the Americans asked for immunity, the Iraqi side answered that it was not possible,” al-Maliki told reporters in Baghdad. “The discussions over the number of trainers and the place of training stopped. Now that the issue of immunity was decided and that no immunity to be given, the withdrawal has started.”

Nearly 40,000 U.S. troops remain in Iraq, all of whom will withdraw by Dec. 31 — a deadline set in a 2008 security agreement between Baghdad and Washington.

But continued violence across Iraq, coupled with growing influence by the Shiite power Iran over the government in Baghdad, prompted the Obama administration earlier this year to push to keep thousands of U.S. troops here for years to come. The two nations negotiated for months over whether U.S. forces should stay — a politically delicate issue for Obama and al-Maliki, both of whom faced widespread opposition from their respective publics to continue a war that was never popular in either nation.

(Excerpt) Read more at washingtontimes.com ...


TOPICS: Foreign Affairs; Front Page News; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: bhohatesamerica; bohussein; flaminbutthead; iraq; muslimterroristpos; nourialmaliki; obama; withdrawal
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1 posted on 10/23/2011 2:19:50 PM PDT by Hunton Peck
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To: Hunton Peck

We are sticking with the 2012 withdrawal date set by the Bush administration and the Iraqi government will not grant immunity to the very troops who liberated their nation from a tyrant.

Time to come home.


2 posted on 10/23/2011 2:26:31 PM PDT by trumandogz (In Rick Perry's Nanny State, the state will drive your kids to the dentist at tax payer expense)
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To: Hunton Peck

Obama HUSSEIN LIES to the American Public and the World yet again as he tries to destroy Western Civilization and replace it with 1st Century A.D. ISLAMIC SATAN WORSHIP and Barbaric Sharia Law!!!!!! Wake UP!! AMERICA!!!


3 posted on 10/23/2011 2:28:14 PM PDT by True Republican Patriot (May GOD SAVE OUR AMERICA from ALLAH and his Prophet, HUSSEIN OBAMA!!)
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To: Hunton Peck

Narcissistic, incompetent, fatherless, boob doesn’t know the meaning of truth.


4 posted on 10/23/2011 2:29:28 PM PDT by TribalPrincess2U (2012—They vote twice— we'll vote three times.)
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To: sickoflibs

Have fun Iraq, bye now! Don’t expect a Christmas card.


5 posted on 10/23/2011 2:35:42 PM PDT by Impy (Don't call me red.)
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To: Hunton Peck
I don't see any reason why zero shouldn't take credit for having our troops thrown out of iraq
6 posted on 10/23/2011 2:44:26 PM PDT by paul51 (11 September 2001 - Never forget)
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To: Hunton Peck
This obviously wasn't negotiated with the proper diplomacy.

It should have been “Here's the deal. Our guys get full immunity and the ability to build permanent bases anywhere. In return, we won't drop a JDAM on your sorry ass.”

7 posted on 10/23/2011 2:44:26 PM PDT by 2111USMC (Not a hard man to track. Leaves dead men wherever he goes.)
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To: Hunton Peck

Why is it I get the feeling that this immunity issue was hatched by the Obama administration to give them cover for pulling the troops out. After a trillion dollars and thousands of lives, the left has once again snatched defeat from the jaws of victory,


8 posted on 10/23/2011 2:48:34 PM PDT by oldbrowser (Democrats have no superego.)
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To: trumandogz

it’s cheaper to just bomb the ever living shiite out of these countries when they get out of line. our military philosophy should be “bombs on the ground, not boots”.


9 posted on 10/23/2011 2:52:48 PM PDT by RC one (Voting isn't a simple act of civic duty anymore, it's a complex act of civil war.)
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To: Hunton Peck

This admin said they wanted immunity for the troops..........................since when do they care about the troops? Just a lame excuse to make it seem like he kept a campaign promise. The deal was set already.


10 posted on 10/23/2011 3:00:25 PM PDT by ColdOne (I miss my poochie... Tasha 2000~3/14/11)
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To: Impy

They don’t celebrate Christmas. So I don’t think they will miss the card. Anyway, you would have to mail it to the new boss in Tehran.


11 posted on 10/23/2011 3:09:16 PM PDT by Vermont Lt (I just don't like anything about the President. And I don't think he's a nice guy.)
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To: ColdOne

Ya’ll keep in mind this was not about “immunity” it was
probably about if US troops would be tried by Sharia Law.

It should have been no different than agreements we have
with with Japan, Germany, and many other nations around
the world.

Iraq, you have a democracy....as long as you can keep it.
As to that I have my doubts.

I’m just wondering where Obama is going to find jobs for
all these folks.


12 posted on 10/23/2011 3:20:41 PM PDT by tet68 ( " We would not die in that man's company, that fears his fellowship to die with us...." Henry V.)
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To: Impy

Coming soon to US Embassy in Baghdad.

13 posted on 10/23/2011 3:23:32 PM PDT by dfwgator
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To: Hunton Peck

This isn’t actually Obama’s fault. My perception is that a majority of Iraqi factions each saw American withdrawal as a chance to grab dictatorial power without pesky GI’s getting in the way. Bottom line is that Iraq will probably end up with a Saddam-style dictator within a decade. You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make it drink. I believe we will soon discover that some countries get the leadership they deserve, that Saddam was the natural outgrowth of Iraqi culture.


14 posted on 10/23/2011 3:25:53 PM PDT by Zhang Fei (Let us pray that peace be now restored to the world and that God will preserve it always.)
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To: ColdOne
This admin said they wanted immunity for the troops..........................since when do they care about the troops?

Politically, it's a hot potato. Losing immunity in Iraq means other host countries will demand the same conditions, which becomes a huge political liability for Obama. Then there's the issue of GI's getting arrested and tried on host country soil. That has the potential to generate very ugly headlines for Obama, from a political standpoint. To the extent that Obama wants to be re-elected, he has to insist on immunity, whether or not he personally believes GI's should be immune from host country laws.

15 posted on 10/23/2011 3:32:57 PM PDT by Zhang Fei (Let us pray that peace be now restored to the world and that God will preserve it always.)
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To: Zhang Fei

I bet if Bush was still in office, we would have gotten the soldier immunity.


16 posted on 10/23/2011 3:34:02 PM PDT by dfwgator
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To: Hunton Peck

Soon to be another client state of Iran.


17 posted on 10/23/2011 3:54:14 PM PDT by Iron Munro ('We do have tough gun laws in Massachusetts; I support them.' -- Mitt Romney)
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To: tet68

I totally agree with your post.

The day it is even a question that our guys will be tried by Sharia...is the day we need to exit...quickly.

You are actually the first one I have seen to echo my own thoughts re: jobs. I guess it will be o.k. if they stay in the military...but my military friends and family are telling me many will leave due to the politcal uncertainty.


18 posted on 10/23/2011 3:54:35 PM PDT by berdie
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To: Hunton Peck

The Lyin’ King is jess doin’ what comes naturally for him.


19 posted on 10/23/2011 3:55:43 PM PDT by left that other site (Psalm 122:6)
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To: AdmSmith; AnonymousConservative; Berosus; bigheadfred; Bockscar; ColdOne; Convert from ECUSA; ...

Thanks Hunton Peck.
Baghdad rejected American demands that any U.S. military forces to stay would have to be shielded from prosecution or lawsuits.

20 posted on 10/23/2011 3:59:13 PM PDT by SunkenCiv (It's never a bad time to FReep this link -- https://secure.freerepublic.com/donate/)
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