Originally Posted By mawnck >>Iraq and the United States have finally agreed on a security pact which would mean that US forces would withdraw from Iraq by 2011, American and Iraqi officials said yesterday. The accord became a major test of strength between the Iraqi government and Washington since negotiations began in March with the Iraqi Prime Minister, Nouri al-Maliki, pictured below, demanding US concessions on the date of the troop withdrawal and immunity for US troops. The pact replaces the UN Security Council resolution enacted after the American invasion of 2003. The agreement still needs to be approved by the council of Iraqi leaders, the cabinet and the Iraqi parliament. Mr Maliki saw the highly influential Shia religious leader, the Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, last week and was assured that he would not stand in the way of the pact if approved by parliament. << <a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/obamas-iraq-plans-vindicated-as-us-agrees-to-pull-out-by-2011-962874.html" target="_blank">http://www.independent.co.uk/n...874.html</a>
Originally Posted By RoadTrip Heck. Everyone might as well vote for McCain now. The war thing is all decided.
Originally Posted By Sport Goofy Too bad the economy trumps the war as the biggest issue now. Was this supposed to be the October surprise orchestrated by the GOP leadership?
Originally Posted By Jim in Merced CA The administration is probably trying to trump the release of 'W' -- Have you seen the trailer? Funny stuff.
Originally Posted By Ursula Oh, shoot. I was hoping for Osama's head on a stick. But I'll take this, if it is the best they can do.
Originally Posted By Hans Reinhardt Funny, no one was talking about withdrawal until the Dems brought it up during the primaries.
Originally Posted By gadzuux I wonder if this means that the US military is giving up on their plans for FOUR 'superbases' in iraq. Somehow I doubt it.
Originally Posted By WorldDisney Hmm, so what would this mean for a McCain presidency or his campaign in general? Can he NOT see that even the administration that put them there in the first place is now trying to get them out? Would he still be stubborn of a 'win' for America or will this be considered a victory in his eyes? And to be fair and to turn that question around, what about Obama? Would he still keep to his 16 month timeline if elected or will he just abide by the agreement assuming one is made and keep them there another year basically, but knowing they would be pulled out regardless and the people on the ground agrees its the more realistic timeline? WOuld love to hear both of the candidates respond on this.
Originally Posted By Hans Reinhardt "Hmm, so what would this mean for a McCain presidency or his campaign in general? Can he NOT see that even the administration that put them there in the first place is now trying to get them out?" What this means is that the GOP is working to get this pushed through before the election in order to help their losing candidate. Who do you think will take all the credit? Nothing is coincidental in politics.
Originally Posted By WorldDisney <<What this means is that the GOP is working to get this pushed through before the election in order to help their losing candidate. Who do you think will take all the credit? Nothing is coincidental in politics.>> Yeah, I get what you are saying Hans, but how does that help McCain exactly? Doesnt it just proves that Obama was right all along and prove McCain was wrong for wanting to keep the troops there permanently (which is what he was suggesting and I dont mean the 100 year line bit, just the idea that they would have some permanent connection like they do with Korea, Germany, etc). But I guess it sort take some wind out of Obama's sails although Iraq seems to be barely mentioned lately.
Originally Posted By Hans Reinhardt "Yeah, I get what you are saying Hans, but how does that help McCain exactly?" It helps spin the GOP in a positive light. The Republicans can now tell the short-term-memory electorate that the surge worked, the job is done, and now the troops can come home. If the details of this are spelled out clearly in the next few days this will do nothing but help McCain. It was Obama and Clinton's idea, but no one will remember that when the Bush administration takes all the credit for orchestrating the deal.
Originally Posted By mele Eh, I have the feeling that neocons will blame the damn libs for any loses in Iraq. If it doesn't work out in the end, it will be because all of the libs forced the government to withdraw before they were ready. You know, the same stuff we're hearing people say about Vietnam.
