Comments on: Proposed SOFA Agreement Requires Congressional Approval Because It Contains Treaty Commitment

By: Anacher Forester

Anacher Forester — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 22:47:40 +0000

Delahunt is a stud. He’s a Congressman to watch.

By: nanlichi

nanlichi — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 21:20:19 +0000

Would some hero please kneecap that chimp bastard and put his ass in the hospital?

Petulant piece of shit, he has done more damage to our country than any external enemy could ever hope for. We need a hero to take him out now, 59 days is too long to leave that pouty fck behind the wheel.

By: hussein toasterhead

hussein toasterhead — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 19:24:28 +0000

ElBruce Says:

Somebody needs to translate the Arabic copy into English and host it somewhere (preferably on a Swedish server). Anybody out there with the language skills willing to give it a shot?

November 21st, 2008 at 1:17 pm
________

McClatchy already did it:
http://www.mcclatchydc.com/iraq/story/56116.html

By: alphainfinityomega

alphainfinityomega — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 18:58:55 +0000

But, but, but Al Sadr wants us to leave Iraq now.

¶ AIO

By: ElBruce

ElBruce — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 18:58:26 +0000

Since Congress is giving him a pass on all the other violations of the Constitution he’s committed over the last eight years, you’d think he’d try to avoid doing it again in the last two months. But no. Signing a treaty agreement without the consent of the Senate is a violation of Article 2, Section 2 of the U.S. Consitution:

He shall have Power, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, to make
Treaties, provided two thirds of the Senators present concur…

Violating the Constitution he has sworn to protect and defend is an impeachable offense.

By: Oval12345678 aka James K. Sayre

Oval12345678 aka James K. Sayre — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 18:30:35 +0000

After seven years and ten months of the illegitimate Bush/GOP regime’s endless lies, criminalities, tortures, and treasons, should we expect anything less than them trying to screw up puppet Iraq well into the next President’s term of office?

By: jb

jb — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 18:24:19 +0000

Out Now. We have poured the contents of the treasury down the Iraq rat hole as well as indebted future generations. Why is nobody speaking about how this affects our economy here at home. Neo-con dreams of empire dragging us all down. Congress had better step up and demand its right to fulfill its responsibilities. Save the Republic from the stupid emperor.

By: Bilbo Hussein Baggins

Bilbo Hussein Baggins — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 18:18:42 +0000

lokidog Says:
Damn, 59 days seems like an eternity……

I agree. That’s why I would like to see a law or a constitutional amendment that says that an outgoing President can’t do anything other than sign or veto laws passed by Congress. There’s just way too much damage an outgoing President can do and this one is taking it to new levels. It’s like he is trying desperately to TOTALLY ruin this country rather than just partially ruining it.

By: theswan

theswan — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 18:18:13 +0000

Is there not a deadline for sofa? Like 12/31? During this current session?

By: ElBruce

ElBruce — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 18:17:23 +0000

Yay, does this mean impeachment is back on the table? Oh wait, I forgot Pelosi & Reid (motto: “thank you sir, may I have another!”) are still in charge.

Just what is this “believes” crap about whether a given agreement constitutes a treaty or not? Matters of law are not matters of personal opinion. Either it is, or it isn’t, and there needs to be a legal, impartial method of making that determination.

What I’m curious about is what exactly in the agreement they don’t want the public to see? Is there some huge horrific clause hidden in there that would freak everybody out? There must be, or else they’d show it to us.

Somebody needs to translate the Arabic copy into English and host it somewhere (preferably on a Swedish server). Anybody out there with the language skills willing to give it a shot?

By: Bilbo Hussein Baggins

Bilbo Hussein Baggins — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 18:15:39 +0000

In the event of any external or internal threat or aggression against Iraq that would violate its sovereignty, political independence, or territorial integrity, waters, airspace, its democratic system or its elected institutions…

Ok, now wait a minute here. Isn’t that what we did? So we are entering into an agreement to protect Iraq from any other country who would want to do what we have already done?

I totally agree. This SOFA needs to be fully disclosed and approved by Congress. If Iraq is requiring approval by their Parliament, then we should do the same with Congress.

Personally I would like to see the whole thing expire and for Iraq to tell us to get the hell out NOW!

By: the brown acid

the brown acid — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 18:13:19 +0000

Arise, chicken. Arise.

By: A Patriot Acting

A Patriot Acting — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 18:11:07 +0000

“Please Bushie, the 110th Congress has long stated it’s requisite for approval of a treaty with Iraq (the Dems anyway) and the 111th will be even less fraught with Republican obstruction and grandstanding due to their devastating losses this election cycle. Power is the ultimate aphrodisiac for a man as morally weak as Bush, so America may have to wait until the adults take over in January.”

fixed it for ya’, Bushie!

By: trollsbwild

trollsbwild — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 18:04:53 +0000

The irony of the most incompetent POTUS in our lifetime is behind the scenes trying to handcuff BO and the Congress. Funny, but isn’t the textbook case for crimes and misdemeanors threshold for impeachment? The fact that this Congress let him continue to be in office without any accountability will go down as the biggest blunder in our history.

By: impeachcheneythenbush

impeachcheneythenbush — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 17:56:29 +0000

It would be excellent if someone with expertise in Arabic would translate the document from the Iraqi website and send it out viral to the American people. I understand that even Congress has never seen the actual document to this day. And if there is an agreement to keep our troops in Iraq, in any capacity, that will take additional appropriations, which is the job of Congress, not the Executive branch. One big unanswered question still remains about how this TREATY affects the militarized private contractors over there. There are apparently more private military contractors than U.S. troops. Damn straight our Congress should have to approve this TREATY. On the other hand, with the trouble that the Iraqi parliament is having with it, it may not be passed by Dec. 31st anyway when the U.N. agreement ends.

By: Bushie

Bushie — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 17:55:43 +0000

Please Peter, the 110th Congress has long since abdicated its responsibility on oversight and only time will tell if the 111th will be any different. Power is the ultimate aphrodisiac, so as good a person as Obama may be, don’t expect him to insist Congress ratify the accord.

By: raynman

raynman — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 17:55:36 +0000

speaking as a Native American, treaties are not exactly a strong suit of the United States…

By: Keltoi

Keltoi — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 17:51:17 +0000

It will be completely up to President Obama and the Democratically controlled Senate whether this SOFA stands or not. They will have to decide if they like the language or not. If they do, they can vote to approve it. If they don’t, they can inform the Iraqis that negotiations need to be reopened. It will be very interesting to see which of these options the new Prez takes.

By: fletc3her

fletc3her — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 17:49:01 +0000

If Congress does not ratify the treaty then it will cease to be in force at the end of the current administration. While Bush is in office he can take executive action to enforce the terms of the treaty. Once he leaves office the Obama administration will not be bound by its terms since it was never ratified by the Senate. It’s basically just a handshake agreement between the current President and the Iraqis rather than the law of the land. If the Iraqis had any sense they would demand that Bush ratify it as a treaty.

By: stateofthedivision

stateofthedivision — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 17:45:36 +0000

Bush repeatedly showed his contempt for the law as he shat on openness and transparency.

Recall, this is an agreement between two democracies. It should be on the web for the American and Iraqi public to peruse.