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They might not be quite so eager for us to leave; Iraqi Cab. approves US troops thru 2011
Topic Started: Nov 16 2008, 06:57 PM (117 Views)
Mikhailoh
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If you want trouble, find yourself a redhead
Iraqi Cabinet OKs Security Pact With US

By QASSIM ABDUL-ZAHRA, AP

BAGHDAD (Nov. 16) - Iraq's Cabinet on Sunday approved a security pact with the United States that will allow American forces to stay in Iraq for three years after their U.N. mandate expires at the end of the year.

The decision followed months of difficult negotiations and, pending parliamentary approval, will remove a major point of contention between the two allies. Parliament's deputy speaker, Khalid al-Attiyah, said he expected the 275-member legislature to begin debating the document this week and vote on it by Nov. 24.

The U.S. government agreed last week to an Iraqi request to amend the draft. The amendment removed what al-Attiyah said was ambiguous language that could allow U.S. forces not to adhere to a timeline for their withdrawal from Iraqi cities by the end of June and from the entire country by Jan. 1, 2012.

The Shiite, Kurdish and Sunni parties making up Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's government dominate parliament, so there is a good chance that the legislature will approve the security pact.

The final draft of the agreement is designed to meet Iraqi concerns over its sovereignty and its security needs as it continues to grapple with a diminished but persistent insurgency.
It provides for the departure of U.S. forces from Iraq by the end of 2011 and gives Iraq the right to try U.S. soldiers and defense contractors in the case of serious crimes committed off-duty and off-base. It also prohibits the U.S. from using Iraqi territory to attack Iraq's neighbors, like Syria and Iran.

Government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh said all but one of the 28 Cabinet ministers who attended Sunday's meeting, in addition to al-Maliki, voted for the pact in a show of hands.
"The government wanted to make sure that the draft of the agreement safeguards the interests of Iraq and its people, with clear and complete timetables," Iraqi government spokesman al-Dabbagh said after the Cabinet's session. "It is not the ideal solution for the Iraqi side or the American side, but conditions on the ground dictated it."

The Cabinet has 37 members and it was not immediately clear why some ministers stayed away. Several of them were believed to be traveling abroad.

"This is an important and positive step," said U.S. Embassy spokesman Adam Ereli.
Violence continues to plague parts of Iraq despite a dramatic improvement in security over the past year, and the attacks underscore the notion that Iraq's nascent security forces still need U.S. backing.

Hours after the Cabinet approved the security pact, seven people died and seven others were wounded in a suicide car bombing at a police checkpoint in Diyala province, northeast of Baghdad, according to police Col. Ahmed Khalifa, chief of Jalula police station. The dead included one police officer.

The U.S. military said the attack in Jalula occurred at a police station and that four police and six civilians died. There was no immediate explanation for the discrepancy, nor any indication that the attack was linked to the Cabinet vote.

And earlier Sunday, a roadside bomb in a Sunni enclave of Baghdad killed three people and wounded seven at a checkpoint belonging to U.S.-backed fighters, according to police and hospital officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to speak to the media.

Two of those killed were members of the local Awakening Council, or Sahwa, one of several names used to refer to the Sunni insurgents and tribesmen who revolted against al-Qaida in Iraq. Sahwa fighters have been targeted by al-Qaida militants since they changed sides in late 2006, with scores of their leaders assassinated and their checkpoints and headquarters bombed.

Proponents of the security pact with the Americans, including al-Maliki's interior and defense ministers, say a continued U.S. military presence is needed until Iraq's security forces can take charge of security in the war-devastated nation.

Parliament is due to go into recess at the end of the month or in early December because of the Muslim Eid al-Adha holiday, when scores of lawmakers travel to Saudi Arabia to perform the annual pilgrimage. Speaker Mahmoud al-Mashhadani canceled all leave for lawmakers and suspended foreign and out-of-town visits to ensure that the house secures a quorum for the security pact vote, al-Attiyah told a news conference.

"I'm optimistic that this agreement will be passed through the Council of Representatives (parliament)," spokesman al-Dabbagh told AP Television News. But he added: "You cannot guarantee 100 percent approval of anything."

Neighboring Iran has bitterly opposed the pact on grounds that it enshrines the U.S. military presence in Iraq and threatens its security and regional influence.

However, Iranian state television took a more nuanced position in a commentary Sunday after it became clear that emboldened Iraqi leaders were going their own way on the pact.
"This is a victory for the al-Maliki government, which was able to apply its own viewpoints," it said in a possible reference to American concessions.

Shiite Iran maintains close relations with many of Iraq's Shiite parties, whose ministers voted in favor of the pact Sunday in what may be a signal that they are willing to balance their ties with the Americans and their longtime supporters in Tehran.

Followers of Shiite leader Muqtada al-Sadr protested Sunday's vote.

"This agreement hands Iraq over (to the United States) on a golden platter and for an indefinite period," said Ahmed al-Massoudi, spokesman for the 30-seat Sadrist bloc in parliament.

Al-Sadr, whose militiamen fought U.S. forces in three uprisings since 2003, has threatened to resume attacks on U.S. forces if they don't immediately begin to withdraw from Iraq.



Once in his life, every man is entitled to fall madly in love with a gorgeous redhead - Lucille Ball
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Axtremus
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HOLY CARP!!!
Quote:
 
The decision followed months of difficult negotiations and, pending parliamentary approval, will remove a major point of contention between the two allies. Parliament's deputy speaker, Khalid al-Attiyah, said he expected the 275-member legislature to begin debating the document this week and vote on it by Nov. 24.
What if the Iraqi Parliament votes it down?

Quote:
 
It ... gives Iraq the right to try U.S. soldiers and defense contractors in the case of serious crimes committed off-duty and off-base. It also prohibits the U.S. from using Iraqi territory to attack Iraq's neighbors, like Syria and Iran.
Are we really OK with that? Do we really intend to honor those clauses?

Any of you continue to think: "To heck with the agreement, we will never actually let our soldiers be tried by the Iraqis; to heck with the security pack, if TSHTF, we will attack Iran/Syria/whomever from Iran as we see fit"?

:blink:
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Daniel
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HOLY CARP!!!
Could they maybe start paying us from their oil revenue like Rumsfeld promised. Is that too much too ask? Or should we just keep bleeding billions of dollars a month?

:no:
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George K
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Finally
Doesn't matter. Who cares if TSHTF?

Obama's gonna have them all out in 16 months.

He told me so. :thumb:
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Mikhailoh
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If you want trouble, find yourself a redhead
If the Iraqi parliament votes it down we go back to the drawing board. That's called representative democracy. In Iraq. How about that?

But.. do you think the cabinet would have approved a plan they couldn't sell?
Once in his life, every man is entitled to fall madly in love with a gorgeous redhead - Lucille Ball
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JBryan
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I am the grey one
Axtremus
Nov 16 2008, 10:58 PM
Any of you continue to think: "To heck with the agreement, we will never actually let our soldiers be tried by the Iraqis; to heck with the security pack, if TSHTF, we will attack Iran/Syria/whomever from Iran as we see fit"?

:blink:
We already allow our soldiers to be tried by foreign governments for serious crimes commited off base and off duty:

http://www.cnn.com/WORLD/9603/okinawa_rape/
"Any man who would make an X rated movie should be forced to take his daughter to see it". - John Wayne


There is a line we cross when we go from "I will believe it when I see it" to "I will see it when I believe it".


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QuirtEvans
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I Owe It All To John D'Oh
Let's take a little two-part quiz.

Who said this:

"I believe setting a deadline for withdrawal would demoralize the Iraqi people, would encourage killers across the broader Middle East, and send a signal that America will not keep its commitments. Setting a deadline for withdrawal is setting a date for failure -- and that would be irresponsible."

?

And when did he say it?
It would be unwise to underestimate what large groups of ill-informed people acting together can achieve. -- John D'Oh, January 14, 2010.
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ivorythumper
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I am so adjective that I verb nouns!
JBryan
Nov 17 2008, 05:39 AM
Axtremus
Nov 16 2008, 10:58 PM
Any of you continue to think: "To heck with the agreement, we will never actually let our soldiers be tried by the Iraqis; to heck with the security pack, if TSHTF, we will attack Iran/Syria/whomever from Iran as we see fit"?

:blink:
We already allow our soldiers to be tried by foreign governments for serious crimes commited off base and off duty:

http://www.cnn.com/WORLD/9603/okinawa_rape/
I am glad Japan got their justice. Any word if they served their time and were repatriated to the US?
The dogma lives loudly within me.
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ivorythumper
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I am so adjective that I verb nouns!
Should have just killed the bastard in Japan
The dogma lives loudly within me.
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Copper
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Shortstop

I haven't read the agreement and this story doesn't make it clear what happens if the troops leave early or late.

Are the allies committed to providing some level of security for specific times or places?

Are the allies committed to leaving by some date and if so what if they leave late? Would the allies pay some penalty for leaving late or would the Iraqis pay extra to keep them there?

What if they leave early? Could the allies pay for someone else to provide security? Or would the Iraqis pay the allies extra to leave early?

It sounds like there is some kind of timetable, but it would be interesting to see who is really committed to what.

The Confederate soldier was peculiar in that he was ever ready to fight, but never ready to submit to the routine duty and discipline of the camp or the march. The soldiers were determined to be soldiers after their own notions, and do their duty, for the love of it, as they thought best. Carlton McCarthy
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