Perino: SOFA Means U.S. Can ‘Celebrate The Victory’ In Iraq
Perino: SOFA Means U.S. Can ‘Celebrate The Victory’ In Iraq
Ever since Iraq’s cabinet “overwhelmingly approved” a proposed security agreement that mandates the full withdrawal of all U.S. forces from Iraq by the end of 2011, the White House has been engaged in a rhetorical dance — in large part due to President Bush’s long-held opposition to “artificial timetables.”
On Monday, White House press secretary Dana Perino tried to mold the agreement to fit her boss’s view, saying that the withdrawal timeline contained within is only “aspirational” and tied to conditions on the ground remaining favorable. (It’s not). Today, Perino went further, claiming that the Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) represents a celebration of victory in Iraq:
Q: Can you remind us again why this agreement is not the timetable that the president fought so hard against? [...]
PERINO: This is a mutually agreed to agreement. And that’s what one of the things that is different about an arbitrary date for withdrawal when you say you’re going to leave win or lose. We believe that the conditions are such now that we are able to celebrate the victory that we’ve had so far and establish…a strategic framework agreement.
Watch it:
The firm redeployment deadline is less a declaration of victory and more a reflection of Iraqis’ long-held dissatisfaction with the occupation. For months, Iraqis have been pushing the Bush administration to set a final date. Part of the reason that the final SOFA has such a deadline is not because of “victory,” but because the Iraqis were able to leverage Obama’s election “to pressure the Bush administration to make last-minute concessions.”
The most recent National Intelligence Estimate (NIE) completed last month suggests that Perino shouldn’t be bringing out the champagne bottles just yet either. The new NIE reportedly warns that “unresolved ethnic and sectarian tensions in Iraq could unleash a new wave of violence, potentially reversing the major security and political gains achieved over the last year.”
In fact, even CentCom commander Gen. David Petraeus will not use the term “victory” or “winning” regarding Iraq. But more importantly, as the Wonk Room’s Matt Duss has noted, there will never be any “victory” there. “Let’s understand,” Duss writes, “there is no plausible scenario in which the decision to invade Iraq can or will ever be vindicated. In the best case, we will have simply averted disaster.”
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61 Responses to “Perino: SOFA Means U.S. Can ‘Celebrate The Victory’ In Iraq”
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Hey, Blondie, I will save my celebrating for when the last soldier is pulled out of Iraq and the people behind getting us into Iraq by lying are behind bars.
November 19th, 2008 at 4:21 pmThe cabinet approved it, but the security agreement caused a riot in the Iraqi Parliament today.
If an overarching security agreement equals victory, we could've declared it annually under UN auspices.
November 19th, 2008 at 4:22 pmSo if we make an agreement with a sovereign nation, with very clearly worded terms of agreement, that is only aspirational.
I'll have to remember that the next time I sign a contract.
November 19th, 2008 at 4:25 pmMs. Barbie Perino - Bless her heart. I think some good scrubbing will remove the dark brown stain on her nose. What a wanker...
November 19th, 2008 at 4:26 pmBarbie, Barbie, Barbie....please, for the luvva Jebus, just ...sit ...down ...and ...shut ...up. :o/
November 19th, 2008 at 4:29 pmEither one of two things continue to become clearer:
1) She doesn't/can't read or comprehend facts in front of her face, OR
2) She's just fundamentally stupid.
She clearly doesn't understand that the Iraqi cabinet IS NOT the Iraqi Parliament... The whole agreement could still go down in flames..
AND, the withdrawal date is NOT NEGOTIABLE...in fact, it may be moved UP!!
These morons/automatons just keep making stuff up day after day not realizing that the populace (US and worldwide) DOESN'T BELIEVE THEM ANYMORE...
The terminator had the response correct "TALK TO THE HAND"...
November 19th, 2008 at 4:30 pmPerino: SOFA Means U.S. Can ‘Celebrate The Victory’ In Iraq»
- - She lies so much I've taken to callin' her Dana Palin.
November 19th, 2008 at 4:31 pmBullshit
November 19th, 2008 at 4:31 pmJust like her brunette counterpart, Barbie Palin, this nitwit has no idea how ridiculous the stuff that comes out of her mouth sounds.
November 19th, 2008 at 4:32 pmI'm gonna stop banging my head on my desk over this bimbo.
It really hurts, and it's not doing any good. :D
November 19th, 2008 at 4:34 pmNo matter what the situation, Dana can always find the pony.
November 19th, 2008 at 4:35 pmWelcome to Daily WH Comedy Central! Laugh or cry: it is up to you.
November 19th, 2008 at 4:36 pmYou know, Dana, maybe, with your questionable job qualifications, you should avoid using any references to "SOFA", even if it is an acrynom.
Just sayin...
November 19th, 2008 at 4:37 pmMission Accomplished!
No, really; we mean it this time!
November 19th, 2008 at 4:38 pmYou can put lipstick on a poodle but she just keep yapping away.
November 19th, 2008 at 4:41 pmDana, how clueless can dumb Republican blondes be? Let me count the ways... Ah, celebrating the destruction of Iraq and the destruction of Afghanistan and the destruction of democracy, the Bill of Rights, the Constitution and our traditional form of government in these United States under eight years of Bush fascism, treason, torture and tyranny. Begone very soon, oh GOP idiots...
November 19th, 2008 at 4:41 pmWith each passing day the women of the GOP become harder to distinguish from each other. They are, collectively, too effing stupid to realize how ignorant, dishonest, and just plain wrong they are.
November 19th, 2008 at 4:42 pmAll of that lying must be stressful, she's aging unusually fast.
November 19th, 2008 at 4:44 pmAll bush (no capital letter for him) wants to do is to make sure the oil companies are secure before leaving. What is bush waiting for?? Security for the people of Iraq??? Yea right!! We are not stupid Mrs.Perino and go and tell your boss (soon to be ex boss)that.
November 19th, 2008 at 4:44 pmShouldn't she already be looking for new job? God knows what she's qualified to do because I sure don't.
November 19th, 2008 at 4:54 pmI've never seen a Help Wanted ad for a bubble headed,
brain-dead, blond bimbo.
Well, good! Now that we've officially won in Iraq, I expect never to hear another Republican whining about how any talk of troop withdrawals and timetables amounts to "defeat."
November 19th, 2008 at 4:58 pmSo, why does the Press Corps even show up for these farces? Granted, it's good blog material, but...
November 19th, 2008 at 5:02 pm"This is a mutually agreed to agreement."
Besides the butchery of the english language isn't an agreement defined as a mutual understanding between two parties.
Any agreement that is not mutual would be unilateral and not an agreement but a set of conditons supported by a single party and forced on the other? You know something like the occupation over the last seven years.
November 19th, 2008 at 5:04 pmI bet Perino believes that 'SOFA agreement' involves furniture...
November 19th, 2008 at 5:06 pmVictory in Iraq? Don't they all walk in lock step together? I heard 2 righties last night on two separate hate America radio talk shows make this comment.
Somewhere, somehow they must be winning at something even if it is a fantasy.
November 19th, 2008 at 5:08 pmYou crazee libruls are all wrong -- it's victory! Victory! Victory! And I can guaran-dam-tee you Petraeus will soon start saying so!
I KNOW IT IS VICTORY!
Because Rush, Sean, Hugh, Prager, Medved, Elder, Michael Reagan, and TownHall.com have ALL been saying so. When Hugh Hewitt interviewed Saxby Chambliss the other day, Hugh made Saxby say it because we're TEH GREATEST EVAH! We toppled a tyrant, destroyed the terrorists, and secured the peace with the SOFA! And Hugh Hewitt is so widely respected a strategic expert -- YOU KNOW ITZ GOTTA BE TRU!
(Isn't it more than a bit sad that, in the last few awful, waning days of this disastrous presidency, the White House is taking its talking points from AM talk radio?)
BTW -- "SOFA Agreement" is redundant. "A" stands for Agreement.
November 19th, 2008 at 5:10 pmA mutually "agreed-to agreement" leading to a "broader, strategic framework agreement" with "one of our allies" that would involve trade, and health care?
What in the world is this woman talking about?
I didn't realise Perino had mastered Palinese so well...
November 19th, 2008 at 5:12 pmJohn McCain started out Talking about Victory in Iraq...and ended up talking about Joe the Plumber.
This was a pretty good Indicator of the American Voter's Verdict regarding Bush's War.
November 19th, 2008 at 5:13 pmAnd what does her babble have to do with the question asked?
It simply boggles the mind...
November 19th, 2008 at 5:13 pmIraqi Lawmakers Brawl Over Security Pact
A session of Iraq’s Parliament collapsed in chaos on Wednesday, as a discussion among lawmakers about a three-year security agreement with the Americans boiled over into shouting and physical confrontation.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/20/world/middleeast/20iraq.html?hp
November 19th, 2008 at 5:18 pmThe bottom line is that the sectarian violence in that country is going to erupt, sooner or later. The presence of U.S. forces (and the remaining 12 or so of the "coalition of the willing") has temporarily held it in some measure of abeyance. But when we leave, it will erupt. As bad as Saddam was, he repressed this during the years he was in power. There's nothing that can be done; this country needs to find it's own way. They may have done it much sooner if we hadn't been occupying the country all this time. And I wouldn't be surprised if Iran and Saudi Arabia don't intervene when we've left either. The only reason we've ever been there is the oil and control over the oil export routes. A better argument for developing our own (alternative) energy source has never been demonstrated as clearly as this disaster as done.
November 19th, 2008 at 5:21 pmPurina said "We believe that the conditions are such now that we are able to celebrate the victory that we’ve had so far and establish…a strategic framework agreement."
I'm confused about what "victory" she is talking about here?
November 19th, 2008 at 5:22 pmVictory? What did we win?
WE did lose:
lives of too many
our reputation and respect
our economy
our treasury
Does the fantasy word Victory make the nut bags on the right feel any better?
November 19th, 2008 at 5:22 pmSure changes the definition of "victory" doesn't it? But then again, changing the meaning of things like, freedom, patriotism, peace and victory is what the Bushies do best. Fact is, we've just lost our second war. First Vietnam and now Iraq. We couldn't beat the insurgents on the ground with overwhelming military might. It's not the fault of the military but the morons who put them in a no win situation. When we leave, the propped up government will collaspe and in all likehood there will be a civil war that will end in a partitioning of the country between Shiites, Sunni's and Kurds. Mission accomplished.
November 19th, 2008 at 5:22 pmIt would be foolish to insist on timetables for victory celebration. That would disembolden somebody or something. If the terrorists find out when we are going to celebrate beating them, then they win. Such a naive plan must be opposed at all cost. Keep that cake on ice, Dana.
November 19th, 2008 at 5:24 pmIraqi Lawmakers Brawl Over Security Pact
A session of Iraq’s Parliament collapsed in chaos on Wednesday, as a discussion among lawmakers about a three-year security agreement with the Americans boiled over into shouting and physical confrontation.
Sounds crazy, but there are times I wish the Democrats had done just this, instead of constantly tucking their tails between their legs and rolling over....even when they finally had a majority in the Congress!
November 19th, 2008 at 5:26 pmThe rest of them were Presidential Spokes Liars but this one is the Presidential Spokes Bimbo. What a foolish little girl.
November 19th, 2008 at 5:40 pmSo FINALLY, it's time to play something I recorded in 2002!
Victory In Iraq: http://soundclick.com/share?songid=923572
November 19th, 2008 at 5:49 pmI object to the references to her gender or hair color.
As a spokesperson for this admin -- she is a liar and a despicable person. I would appreciate holding off on other references.
November 19th, 2008 at 5:52 pmWhat Perino didn't say was more important than what she did say. What Perino didn't say was that the sole reason Iraq had a change of heart was the election of Barack Obama as President of the United States. Had McCain won there would have been no deal. So just who does this victory Perino talks about belong to? By Iraaq's own admission it belongs to Barack Obama and the Iraqi people. Iraq simply waited out the clock and Perino claims that as victory for Bush. Yeah, right.
November 19th, 2008 at 5:53 pmBush-"I'm not going to let that Obama terrorist get credit for victory, I'm the decidering commander guy, and victory is mine, all mine, I tell ya. So go out there sweet cheeks and tell them that I won, vic-tory is mine."
November 19th, 2008 at 5:58 pmIf we didn't agree to the timetable the Iraqis wanted, then they could just officially kick us out. What would we do then, overthrow the Democratic government that we set up and set up another one? That may be a little too blatantly ridiculous even for BushCheney.
November 19th, 2008 at 6:06 pmThe Security Agreement is a victory, but it is a victory for the Iraqi people not for the US Military. It is a victory for the people of Iraq in that they are declaring themselves, once again, a sovereign country.
November 19th, 2008 at 6:18 pmWinski Says:
Either one of two things continue to become clearer:
1) She doesn’t/can’t read or comprehend facts in front of her face, OR
2) She’s just fundamentally stupid.
Actually what she is is a wind-up doll that gets up there and they pull the string and she recites the BS that has been programmed into her brain. She has no free will or free thought. When she is out of a job on January 20, she will wander around with her head empty of any cogent thought.
November 19th, 2008 at 6:20 pmShayne Says:
"You can put lipstick on a poodle but she just keep yapping away."
that's some funny sheeyat.
November 19th, 2008 at 6:24 pmBuckie Boy Says:
Bush-”I’m not going to let that Obama terrorist get credit for victory, I’m the decidering commander guy, and victory is mine, all mine, I tell ya. So go out there sweet cheeks and tell them that I won, vic-tory is mine.”
You are right... didn't even give that a thought...has to be the reason why the talking points lately are loaded up with the word Victory. I can see it now for 2012: The Republicans win wars" ... it is mind boggling just how far they stretch the propaganda.
November 19th, 2008 at 6:24 pmBilbo Hussein Baggins Says:
The Security Agreement is a victory, but it is a victory for the Iraqi people not for the US Military. It is a victory for the people of Iraq in that they are declaring themselves, once again, a sovereign country.
For laughs, at times I listen to right hate America radio...2 separate hosts used the word Victory concerning Iraq in their (R) party's favor... I laughed more. This is their new propaganda talking point - so pathetic.
November 19th, 2008 at 6:34 pmRWeSafer Says:
I object to the references to her gender or hair color.
You have the right to object, and I still retain the right to call her Blondie when I damn well please as well as the right to tell you to stuff it.
Do you also object to references to her being as dumb as a bag of hair?
November 19th, 2008 at 7:22 pm(Notice I did not mention what color hair or the gender of the hair. Was that acceptable to your sensitivities?)
Wayne Says:
...and your mother dresses you funny...
is there something special about cliched, stereotypic, ad hominem attacks that intrigues you?
November 19th, 2008 at 7:39 pmThis is the one question I wanted to ask McCain during the campaign. "Could you please define 'victory in Iraq'?"
November 19th, 2008 at 8:11 pmOne, the SOFA hasn't been ratified by the Parliament yet
November 19th, 2008 at 9:57 pmTwo , a SOFA is required because the UN mandate of the US presence in Iraq will expire next month--on an arbitrary date!
Sock puppet Perino's head would explode if it wasn't so empty.
November 20th, 2008 at 3:24 amPurina is lookin *haggard*
November 20th, 2008 at 8:55 amHuh? Didn't Bush land on a carrier and declare "Mission Accomplished"? Victory was 5 years ago.
Now, an argument could be made that victory was when we captured Saddam, but that was also in 2003.
The rest of the time has been just wasting U.S. taxpayer's money and U.S. lives (and innumerable residual Iraqi lives).
We found no WMDs. When we didn't, we should have left, with our tails between our legs, kind of an "Oops" moment. WMDs were the reason we went in, wasn't it?
Oh, no, it was actually to rid them of Saddam Hussein, part of Bush's campaign promise to not go in for "regime change". Another "Oops" moment when we forgot to leave after capturing his ass.
We should have been out in 2004 at the latest, since everything we INVADED for was accomplished by then.
So, why are we still there? It couldn't have been oil. Nah...
Maybe it was to funnel as much money into Blackwater and Halliburton as possible. Nah...
Maybe we just forgot to leave? Maybe...
Maybe "Mission Accomplished" doesn't mean victory. Good thing we never declared Mission Accomplished on the deck of the USS Missouri in 1945 - we'd still be in Japan and Germany. Oh! Actually, we ARE still there? yeah, you're right! It must be an old Presidential custom.
So Bush just followed Truman's example right? Declare victory, then occupy them forever.... Yeah, that's it! Obviously, he must be a real student of history. Funny we didn't realize that long ago...
December 2nd, 2008 at 1:05 amPerfect! All Bush wants is good PR and we can leave. We could have left, years ago if we had all just send emails saying, "Heck of a job, Bushie! Congratulations on your win in Iraq!!! We Won!!! YEAH!!! Let's have a parade!"
December 5th, 2008 at 10:08 amAt what point in a child's life does he or she look up at his parents and say, "When I grow up, I want to be White House Press Secretary, so that I can tell complete whoppers while smiling in front of the great seal of the White House,"? Are there any red flag precursor behaviors to this, so that parents may be on the lookout for it, and help their children avoid such a twisted end? Should we watch for increasingly bold lying, or the torture of woodland creatures?
December 8th, 2008 at 6:30 amjust john, very nice victory composition. Almost as irritating as the war itself. Kinda disappointed I couldn't really hear the comb, but overall I give it a 4 out of 5.
December 8th, 2008 at 10:37 pmMan none of you liberals here have even been to Iraq; it's pathetic you complain on behalf of soldiers who volunteer while you stab them in the back.
This is VICTORY.
Iraq has had the fewest attacks ever since the war began, it is now safer to walk down Baghdad streets than it is to walk down Detroit streets!
Iraq is now taking most of the security effort on its own with no US soldiers involved.
Iraq is ready to police and govern their own country.
You're all pathetic.
December 9th, 2008 at 5:47 pmSteveGinIL represents the idiocy of the Left.
We couldn't leave Iraq until the Iraq government had both a police institution and a Military to defend itself. That was accomplished over the last year culminating in nearly 90% of Iraq now being policed by Iraqis (as opposed to a few years ago where most of Iraq was policed by US soldiers).
That meant the US Army, with the Surge could go after the last most virulent elements of Iraqi insurgency, which was the Al Qaedah elements which moved in after the war started.
They are mostly destroyed now and the Iraq military is now responsible for finding and killing them as well.
Total success.
December 9th, 2008 at 5:49 pmI've been to Iraq (547 days) and I don't claim to be a liberal. Iraq is a lost cause for US.
We "won" in Iraq? What did we "win"? Why was this news not printed in the papers? Why have we not had any "victory" parades for our troops?
The only people who believe we "won" anything in Iraq are the loyal bushies drinking the neocon kool-aid.
I don't believe we have "won" anything from Bush's illegal, immoral, unjustified, unconstitutional, and unnecessary invasion and occupation of Iraq. It's nothing but fraud, waste and corruption.
December 12th, 2008 at 10:02 pmSo... "aspirational" is Repugspeak for "bullshit"?
January 1st, 2009 at 7:24 pm