Comments on: Iraqi version of SOFA called a ‘withdrawal accord.’

By: MapleStreet

MapleStreet — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 16:54:27 +0000

So how come the Iraqis see this as an agreement with firm dates and the Bushies are touting it as “aspirational” ?

By: hussein toasterhead

hussein toasterhead — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 16:15:43 +0000

For anyone interested, I’ve found the original Arabic version on al-Jazeera.

Although it’s missing the title, the preamble is pretty clear:

This agreement specifies the terms and requirements governing the President the temporary presence of U.S. forces in Iraq and its activities and its withdrawal from Iraq.

By: hussein toasterhead

hussein toasterhead — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 15:57:50 +0000

RUCerious Says:

Chris L, you make a great point, and when the Shiite’s start whacking Sunnis again, ya think the Shiite gummint is going to ask us for help to ‘quell the violence’?

November 20th, 2008 at 10:48 am
_________

Pff, no problem! We already armed and funded the crap out of those Sunnis – they’ll be perfectly capable of fighting the Shi’ites. Now we’re just going to have to start arming Shi’ite and Kurdish militias, to make it fair. Maybe even a few Turkmen or Assyrian militias, too – they deserve a piece of the action as well…

By: hussein toasterhead

hussein toasterhead — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 15:55:44 +0000

Chris L Says:

They will literally be just sitting around waiting over the next two years. Why is it that no one has covered that in more detail?

November 20th, 2008 at 10:29 am
_______

I also haven’t seen much about the SOFA’s provisions regarding private military contractors. Apparently they will no longer be immune to Iraqi law: http://www.democracynow.org/2008/11/19/steve_fainaru_on_big_boy_rules

By: RUCerious

RUCerious — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 15:48:30 +0000

Chris L, you make a great point, and when the Shiite’s start whacking Sunnis again, ya think the Shiite gummint is going to ask us for help to ‘quell the violence’?

By: RUCerious

RUCerious — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 15:46:01 +0000

I call it victory, let’s get the hell out sooner.

By: Badmoodman

Badmoodman — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 15:44:31 +0000

Uncle Ho Says: Badmoodman; Are you being snarky this morn?

– - This morn?

By: ElBruce

ElBruce — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 15:39:52 +0000

Hey if they want us to leave before Bush is ready, he can always call for regime change, invade Iraq, overthrow their government, and set up a free democratic – ohwait…

By: unbelievable

unbelievable — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 15:31:31 +0000

Crusty Old Bastard Says: And our man isn’t even in office yet. Just watch the score go up after 1/20/09.

Unlike the majority of people who run for the office, Obama was motivated by his ability to make a difference for the working class folks (us). We need to start electing more people like this, and we now know how to do it (grassroots campaigns).

With Tom Daschle appointed to tackle health care, and Rahm Emanuel already telling CEO’s to expect big changes for the majority of Americans and not them, I think Obama is going to run up that score higher than most of us imagined he could. It’s really refreshing.

By: Chris L

Chris L — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 15:29:08 +0000

Good. Bring them home.

However, there is a big part of the agreement that the press seems determined to ignore. After June, 2009, our troops will no longer be patrolling Iraqi streets. They will be confined to bases unless specifically requested by the Iraqi government for help on specific missions. They will literally be just sitting around waiting over the next two years. Why is it that no one has covered that in more detail?

By: EnnuiDivine

EnnuiDivine — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 15:28:56 +0000

Not having any military experience, I don’t know the logisitics of pulling out 140,000+ troops…but it’s gotta take at least 6 months to a year. Longer to permanently dismantle our bases and either bring our weapons back or distribute them to the Iraqi govt.

The security agreement, assuming it passes through Parliament, is the best deal either country could hope for

By: Crusty Old Bastard

Crusty Old Bastard — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 15:24:10 +0000

Obama–1 Chicken George WTF–0

And our man isn’t even in office yet. Just watch the score go up after 1/20/09.

Speaking of 1/20/09, maybe we will have something to replace old WTF’s legacy: 9/11/01.

By: larkohio

larkohio — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 15:24:00 +0000

We need out of there sooner rather than later. We just cannot afford it in terms of our military and our budget.
I would like to see all of those billions going to help people right here at home. We need to spend this money on getting people back to work.

By: Uncle Ho

Uncle Ho — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 15:22:40 +0000

Badmoodman; Are you being snarky this morn? Not that I mind. I love the sound of snark in the morning, it smells like….victory. (:-D)

By: A Patriot Acting

A Patriot Acting — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 15:16:43 +0000

Must be something wrong with The WH’s translatorometer again. Something MUST have gotten lost in the translations of al-Maliki because I didn’t see anything resembling the term “aspirational” in there when discussing the withdrawal. But it MUSt be there somewhere, Dana and Georgie are both under the impression that withdrawal is based on the situation on the ground. It almost appears that the Iraqi’s don’t want us there anymore and want us out ASAP. Nah, that couldn’t be it…what a bunch of thankless ingrates.(snarkitty snark)

By: unbelievable

unbelievable — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 15:13:05 +0000

The Arabic language version calls the final agreement a withdrawal accord.

Of course it does. They want us to leave as much as we want us to leave.

The only way to get around Bush, is to write the agreement in a language he cannot speak. We should have tried that with our Constitution 8 years ago…

By: Badmoodman

Badmoodman — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 15:10:46 +0000

“We don’t call it a security pact but an agreement to withdraw the troops…” Maliki said

– - Obama better be careful bein’ seen palin’ around with ingrates.

By: Zooey

Zooey — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 15:07:50 +0000

It’s plain as the nose on your face that Bush is mucking up our “understanding” of this agreement to make it look like Obama messed up.

By: Zooey

Zooey — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 15:07:11 +0000

They want us out — let’s go.

By: Uncle Ho

Uncle Ho — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 15:04:59 +0000

No permanent bases! No long-term bases! Get us out NOW!
Why wait for another 3 years? It’s THEIR country.