Comments on Informed Comment: Iraq Moves Closer to Obama-Type Plan for early US ...

Cleared:Juan Cole is great!Support the troops!Obam...

2008-10-22T22:12:00.000-04:00

Cleared:

Juan Cole is great!

Support the troops!

Obama 2008!

If the Iraqi reject the agreement, then US has to ...

2008-10-22T16:25:00.000-04:00

If the Iraqi reject the agreement, then US has to go back to UN for an extension. It seems that Russia is going to support such an move in security council. Could it be that in future they can use the same agreement and propose putting Russian troops in Iraq?

ref : “Iraq Moves Closer to Obama-Type Plan for ea...

2008-10-22T13:17:00.000-04:00

ref : “Iraq Moves Closer to Obama-Type Plan for early US Withdrawal”

Awakening this morning to see on my trading screen that the S&P-500 Futures and Asian equity markets were yet again way down, and then in that stack of news-wire notices that BBC : Pakistan seeks IMF financial help, I then tuned into Informed Comment to see what's what with The War... and entirely mis-interpreted that word, ‘Withdrawal’ as having nothing to do with troops, but instead in this financial sense being: "the withdrawal of kapital investment."

I laughed, but was then struck by the irony of my error: Stuck in situ NATO and American troops in Afghanistan and Iraq are, indeed not unlike frozen accounts, without liquidity of movement; risk-averse EU troop-banks unwilling to lend to these American venture capitalists ~ their market values being suddenly realized as indeterminate: "Get me out!" the investors shout, "Before we are decimated," literally, reduced to ten-cents to the dollar.

No doubt Mr. Obama and/or the Pentagon will cast ‘withdrawal’ as some kind of ‘re-deployment strategy’. But it is plain to see that whatever happens next will in reality be a hastily cobbled-together bailout plan, Profit & Loss, Assets & Liabilities all being the same as some far away war game by any other name {grin}

"By the time a draft agreement was circulated las...

2008-10-22T11:24:00.000-04:00

"By the time a draft agreement was circulated last week (text courtesy Raed Jarrar), the US military had found itself confined to bases by next June and constrained to leave by 2011; civilian contractors were open to prosecution in Iraqi courts; and off-duty US troops who commit crimes might also find themselves before a qadi or Muslim court judge. There was no mention of long-term bases."

Yes, sure, USA is going to leave, without bases, sure. As if there is not such caveat "if everything would be OK then". Only a fool (or a USA liberal) will believe in such goodness of USA imperialism.

The ONLY way USA occupation of Iraq will end - it will be kicked out.And it will be.

Right Wing Obama Loveby Margaret Kimberley"Right w...

2008-10-22T09:23:00.000-04:00

Right Wing Obama Love
by Margaret Kimberley
"Right wingers who openly follow the doctrine of America's right to empire and conquest are now endorsing Obama."

Sorry, Dad, I'm Voting for Obama
by Christopher Buckley
A year ago, when everyone, including the man I’m about to endorse, was caterwauling to get out of Iraq on the next available flight, John McCain, practically alone, said no, no—bad move. Surge...

But that was—sigh—then. John McCain has changed...

As for Senator Obama... well, he’s a Harvard man... I’ve read Obama’s books, and they are first-rate... having a first-class temperament and a first-class intellect, President Obama will (I pray, secularly) surely understand that traditional left-politics aren’t going to get us out of this pit we’ve dug for ourselves.

Vote for Obama
by Christopher Hitchens
On "the issues" in these closing weeks, there really isn't a very sharp or highly noticeable distinction to be made between the two nominees, and their "debates" have been cramped and boring affairs as a result. But the difference in character and temperament has become plainer by the day, and there is no decent way of avoiding the fact. Last week's so-called town-hall event showed Sen. John McCain to be someone suffering from an increasingly obvious and embarrassing deficit, both cognitive and physical.

Iraq Moves Closer to Obama-Type Plan
by Juan Cole
In all likelihood, Iraq will go to the UN Security Council for a one-year renewal of the Multinational Forces Mandate... something much closer to Obama's plan.

The imperial president trashes the constitution, n...

2008-10-22T08:37:00.000-04:00

The imperial president trashes the constitution, not obtaining Senate advice and consent on a treaty, and the Senate acquiesces. SecDef Gates at a news conference Oct 17:
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Gates: Finally, I would just say that the four leaders that I talked to from the Armed Services Committees, I think, were generally positive, but clearly are looking forward to seeing exact text.

Q: When would they get that?

Gates: The staffs of -- representatives of each of them, as far as I know, were invited to the White House this morning and walked through the text.
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The congressional representatives were invited to the White House and walked through the text! Why do we even have a Senate?

We have to remember that what McCrustyTheClown mea...

2008-10-22T08:31:00.000-04:00

We have to remember that what McCrustyTheClown means when he says that we are winning in Iraq and that the soldiers will come home victorious with ticker-tape parades in NYC. He means, "Shut up and get out of the way. Let the neocons and pentagon fight this war the way we want to." Much like his attitude toward Barack Obama in the first debate.

He has no patience or use for public input on military actions in our colonies and will say incredibly stupid things because of a complete lack of respect for non-military personnel--not to mention that he seems to possess a bush-like lack of need for self-education.

The Interior ministers of Iraq and the six borderi...

2008-10-22T08:09:00.000-04:00

The Interior ministers of Iraq and the six bordering countries are having a regular meeting in Jordan.

Apart from the original objective of intelligence exchanges, Iraq is asking for active support to restore security and stability. This is a reversal of the position since the occupation. When the US wanted troops from Arab and Islamic countries, the Green Zone Iraqis insisted on excluding bordering Arab countries.

There have also been serios talks on a regional block including Iraq and its 6 neighbors, with Iraq acting as a keyring rather than a boxing ring for the others. The block also represents an economic zone.

The changes may impact the US in a big way if troops and/or trainers from these countries replace US troops, on a short notice!

It makes no sense for the Iraqis to sign a deal un...

2008-10-22T07:05:00.000-04:00

It makes no sense for the Iraqis to sign a deal until they find out who the next US president is going to be, and what his real (ie post-campaign) policy on Iraq will be.

Gates is trying to play the media, but he is not very good at it.

I am not sure it is right to introduce the McCain/...

2008-10-22T05:07:00.000-04:00

I am not sure it is right to introduce the McCain/Obama positions into a discussion of US-Iraq negotiations over the "SOFA". This is a problem that confronts the US as a nation.

What is astounding is that US officialdom failed to predict the present situation over the negotiations. The development that has occurred was already obvious to me in July, and I said so widely at the time. US officials, who are much better informed than me, had all the information at their fingertips, but were blinded by their prejudices. It is a signal defeat for the US.

The point that interests me is that Maliki appears to have given way under some kind of pressure applied by Negroponte, and agreed to a set of conditions (I always thought it was not in his interest to agree at all). Only for the US to find that behind Maliki, the cabinet is not ready to agree, and behind the cabinet, the parliament. (By the way, you don't have to introduce Iran into the equation, the Iraqis are doing this by themselves). So, even now, Negroponte evidently thought that Maliki was acting on his own, out of personal ambition. A big, big mistake.

My own impression is that Iraq has nearly won this game. They will be rid of the US in a year or two.

Bravo!! Iraqi Cabinet. Bravo!!I wonder if Iraqi fo...

2008-10-22T03:00:00.000-04:00

Bravo!! Iraqi Cabinet. Bravo!!

I wonder if Iraqi fortitude will empower other occupied countries. One thing is certain, financially, the US Empire cannot hold its present positions much longer, which is a very good thing for the average US subject. Returning to a 1935-level War Department budget would be even better. And a real coup would be a new Neutrality Act.

An opportunity for real leadership presents itself to the candidate most ready and willing to grasp it--Leading the USA out of militarism's morass and into the new paradigm of green-energy producing Keynesianism. Declare that vision and expand on it somewhat, while showing how it provides a path out of the financial debacle, and the people will vote you bigtime.

Well, I suppose we're down to Iraq (hopefully) sta...

2008-10-22T02:42:00.000-04:00

Well, I suppose we're down to Iraq (hopefully) staying united and democratic.

All the rest of the investment is gone - three years from now, all things being equal, the US military presence will be gone from Iraq. So much for Condi Rice's* goal of having US troops throughout the Middle East to check Iran; odds are, the very best thing we'll end up with is an independent Iran that vacillates between the Iranians and US, never quite backing either.

*She actually says this in Bob Woodward's book The War Within.