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Bush Commits Troops to Iraq For The long Term
· Deal to provide mandate for military beyond 2008· US oil companies likely to benefit from proposals
The Bush administration formally committed America yesterday to a long-term military presence in Iraq, pledging to protect the government in Baghdad from internal coup plots and foreign enemies.
The cooperation pact, endorsed by George Bush and the Iraqi prime minister, Nouri al-Maliki, during a video conference yesterday morning, will set the agenda for a future American relationship with Iraq, the administration's adviser on Iraq and Afghanistan, General Douglas Lute, told reporters at the White House.
"The two negotiating teams, Iraq and the United States, now have a common sheet of music with which to begin the negotiations," Lute said.
The military, economic and diplomatic agreement would commit US forces to defending the government of Iraq from internal and external threats as well as fighting al-Qaida and "all other outlaw groups regardless of affiliation", according to the declaration of principles released by the White House yesterday.
In return, Iraq pledged itself to "encouraging the flow of foreign investments to Iraq, especially American investments, to contribute to the reconstruction and rebuilding of Iraq". The promise was immediately seen as a potential bonanza for American oil companies.
Lute offered few details on the scale of future US troop levels in Iraq or permanent US bases. He noted that the agreement, because it was not a treaty, would not be subject to oversight by Congress. "What US troops are doing, how many troops are required to do that, are bases required, which partners will join them - all these things are on the table," he said.
Yesterday's agreement was announced as Maliki indicated he intended to seek the renewal of the UN security council mandate for Iraq for one more year when it expires in December. The agreement has been in the works since last August, when the Maliki government officially requested the long-term strategic relationship with Washington.
The public unveiling of the proposed arrangement yesterday arrived at a time when the administration has been trying to showcase recent improvements in security in Iraq following the deployment of an additional 30,000 US troops at the beginning of the year.
Some of those forces are scheduled to begin leaving Iraq by the end of this year following the drop in violence. The rest are due to be withdrawn by the summer of 2008, although there has been little sign of the political reconciliation which was the main objective of the surge strategy.
Instead, the administration yesterday appeared to be urging Americans to look to American and Iraqi negotiators' hopes of producing a broader agreement on their partnership next summer.
The timetable for negotiations indicated by Lute would see the state department open negotiations early next year. That all but ensures that Iraq will dominate next year's US presidential elections.
© 2007 The Guardian
153 Comments so far
Show AllBush must be committed to prison for the long term. Planet likely to benefit from proposal.
What a hoot. "Negotiating teams." Ha! What negotiating power does the conquered and occupied govenment of Iraq have? The same power that France's Vichy regime had with the Nazis, obviously. It gets even funnier - the US will protect Iraq from external threats! And Iraq will encourage foreign investment as a token of its appreciation for such protection! Damn! Is this gloriously hilarious or what? No comedian could spout these lines with a straight face. And we are expected to accept this nonsense? Iraq has no government and this agreement merely formalizes the American seizure of the natural resources of Iraq. The United Nations has a charter that forbids agressive war and war profiteerng but obviously the United Nations is a joke, and a very bad joke indeed.
His act yesterday, a treaty essentially, will 'almost' insure we never leave Iraq. Of course as all are fully aware, he and his backers never intended to leave anyway.
When I was seven I wanted very much to join the crew of a pirate ship. Seven years as a citizen of Bush's America have taught me to be careful what I wish for.
When I was seven I wanted very much to join the crew of a pirate ship. Seven years as a citizen of Bush's America have taught me to be careful what I wish for.
Why don't we just call this agreement what it really is. It's an agreement with a few elite people in Baghdad to to make Iraq an American colony. They may actually get this agreement signed but you can bet that the first generation of Iraqi children born under colonial governance will be the start of the revolution.
Our government is supposed to be the government of our country, not the whole godamm world. The founding fathers didn't intend for us to be an empire. We were supposed to be getting away from all that oppressive rule.
Read Jack London's IRON HEEL. It will give you a glimpse of things to come.
Hoa binh
This agreement is exactly what Naomi Klein claimed the entire invasion (armed robbery) was about in her "Shock Doctrine." Klein is one smart cookie.
Iraq need not "dominate" next year's elections, unless Democrats and progressives are just stupid. The issues that can and should win the 2008 election for liberals are domestic, domestic, domestic. After that election is won, foreign affairs will not be at the discretion of the Bush/Cheney boys, IF WE HAVE SENSE ENOUGH TO WIN IT.
Bush/Cheney should be impeached then tried for treason!
SHOULD BE ___ WILL BE ___ are two different phrases.
What do Americans really want? Do they want to be honourable and fair and just? Or do they want to merely describe themselves that way? Do they want to strongly protest their government's actions, while at the same time pampering themselves with 50% of the world's resources?
You can't have it both ways. Bush is always saying he is 'spreading democracy and freedom', while at the same time plundering, torturing and oppressing.
This site exposes the hypocracies of the Bush administration, and the comments here always express outrage at his actions. But how serious is that outrage? How far does it take you in your daily lives? Is it real, or is it only lip service to who you are pretending to be?
Would any of the people here give up all the perks Bush is providing to you? Would you deny yourselves the weath you enjoy every day? Are you willing to fight your unjust administration as resourcefully as the Iraqi insurgents fight Bush in Iraq? Do you have that much conviction, that much courage?
I really want to know. If the people who write comments here are not really prepared to do anything other than complain, then certainly no one else will either. In that case it would be more honest to just keep quiet, and indulge in the spoils of war that you really enjoy so much.
Well written and directly to the point Malfoyd, I can only tip my hat! It is the very place where I find myself, living in Germany (since 1980)I thought I could hide but there really is no place to hide now is there! If we in the so called 1st world do not stand up and say enough is enough, and yes the world is kinda looking to the USA for direction, then we should shut our mouths and enjoy the ride to our self made hell.
Well I guess they [neo-con fascist,international elite]figure they've killed enough of the Iraqi's that don't want to be occupied by a foreign power. And can now have their way with them. Kind of like a rape victim that no longer has the energy or will to fight back.
All it has cost is our manufacturing base, our financial solvency for the forseeable future, our morals as human beings and so on and so forth.
It is by no means a done deal.
War crimes trials for those who peretrated this holocaust. Restitution to those who hae been unjustly harmed, paid for by the ones who promoted and benefitted from it.
MALFOYD, you are preaching to the wrong audience. For example, Cindy Sheehan is one of us and she gets arrested for attempting to see Conyers. The bloggers who comment here are in the vast minority, we cannot control the press and media, we do attempt to provoke them by pricking and jabbing their conscience. We hopefully are the beginning of a peaceful yet effective revolution. Your comments are neither fair nor helpful. ___ You do have the absolute right to post them.
"US generals admit Iraq occupation will last 10 to 50 years, up to 2057"
http://www.chycho.com/?q=iraq_2057
"According to retired Army Gen. John Abizaid, "It might take as long as half a century before U.S. troops can leave the volatile Middle East." Abizaid's estimates are 40 years longer then the previous prediction by General David Petraeus that "US troops 'could be in Iraq for a decade'". This means that according to the "top coalition commander" in Iraq and the "former commander of U.S. forces in the Middle East", who happens to be the "longest-serving commander of U.S. Central Command", the United States will be occupying Iraq anywhere from 2017 all the way up to 2057.
If this doesn't shock you then wait until you see what the expected death toll is for the next ten years."
Malfoyd
I don't buy the idea that voicing outrage at this site is merely paying lip service to our values as opposed to real action. Here we commiserate, we preach to the choir, and I'll grant you that this doesn't accomplish much. But most of us are also politically active in our lives and our organizations, and put our energies into shifting the opinions of the people we encounter. This process, also made entirely of talk, HAS been effective in countering Washington propaganda and discrediting the authors of the Iraq war.
I'm not sure what kind of action, what kind of "fight" you are proposing. Armed rebellion? Are you suggesting that we set IEDs for Bush partisans like our brother insurgents in Iraq? Who, exactly, should we target? Please clarify by what omissions we have disappointed you.
What is this, one of us crap? Is it really them and us or do you real think it is so straight forward as that? It is really about taking direct responsibility for your part, we here in the so called 1st world all have to much...period. Cindy uses actions, after she lost her son, do we all first need to lose a son? I agree with Malfoyd because of the experience of the 60s and 70s, when enough son's were lost we as a people said no more!
Kem Patrick, you seem to know about the right audience, the one I should be addressing. Tell me where to find it.
Certainly you won't direct me to the 70+ percent of Americans who claim to disapprove of Bush and his policies. Those people are already converted, right? The vast majority of your democratic country are well aware that your foreign policy is criminal, that your constitution has been shredded, that your people are more spied on and documented than any Russian or East German ever was. So the majority of your citizens already know that the wealth they enjoy is derived from the blood and sacrificed freedom of the world's poor. No need to talk to them, right? They already know. But what are they doing? Overthrowing the government they despise, or filling up their grocery carts with Twinkies.
Who should I be talking to? The media, owned by the same corporate masters who own every member of Congress and every member of the Senate, not to mention Bush himself? Not Cheney, of course, who is in fact the owner of them all. Who should I talk to?
'Peaceful yet effective revolution'. Please! Give me a break. You are planning to politely persuade these criminals to give up their control?? If you say just the right thing to them, they're going to see the light. That's your plan? With your 'peaceful but effective revolution' you are going to defeat people who slaughter a million Iraqis for sport? No. Those people sprinkle 'peaceful revolutions' on their corn flakes.
No. I'm afraid not. If you want to re-gain the America you idealize, you're going to have to get your hands dirty, and maybe a little bloody. Same as your last revolution, when they had to get thier hands dirty and bloody. And you're going to have to expect a much more sparce existence than what you enjoy now.
But you're right about one thing. It's not you I should be talking to.
The best part of this deal is the US pledge to protect the Iraq-Namese regime from all threats foreign and domestic.
Read it for yourself, and weep
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2007/11/20071126-11.html
voxclamatis, First of all, I'm asking, 'What is the will of the American people?'
If you believe the polls, the Bush administration is not fulfilling the will of the people, but I wonder if perhaps Bush isn't the only hypocrite. Perhaps the polls portray a protesting population that is in reality very satisfied with the service they are getting from this administration. They don't like the methods, but they demand the results. In that case, Americans are getting just what they want, and they should be honest enough to enjoy it without all this fake protest.
On the other hand if they really are outraged; if their will is in fact not being done, then they should have the balls to stand up and take their government back. I don't see anything like this happening.
That's what I'm saying.
Vidikun Quisling was the Nazi appointed head of Norway during the war. He welcomed the Nazis and their help to stay in power. The Nazis recognized him as the head of the Norwegian government.
When the Nazis were finally expelled from Norway, the Norwegians hanged Quisling.
Quisling's name lives on in the lexicon as a synonym for a "leader" appointed by an occupying force.
Bush has concluded a "treaty" with the Iraqi quisling government. Hopefully, such a treaty will not be recognized by the Senate, so it will die stillborn, but with this Senate, who knows?
Eventually, the Iraqi People, with or without the help of their friends and neighbors, will throw out the US appointed and supported quisling government and said treaty will become null and void. Hopefully, so will the occupation.
Europe gets it. It's all about personal responsibility.
Malfoyd...I understand what you are saying. May I ask what you suggest as our first move...our initial action, if you will.
The vast majority of Americans are concerned that the war in Iraq is causing havoc with their wallets. That is what they primarily disapprove of MALFOYD. And as for not talking to me, I really don't let it bother me who you speak or write to. Rave on, this still is a free country. __ So far anyway.
If you wish to know who to preach to, it's the American press.
Malfoyd has many valid arguments concerning individual participation in society. And he rightfully asks "What do Americans really want"? It's a question we should all be willing to honestly answer. I left America twenty years ago. I didn't leave to change America. I left to change myself. I was more than tired of being one of them. And over the years I continue to witness America's Constitution, and resulting Democracy, being the prey of deranged and greedy businessmen. Today, with the willing help of the mainstream media, our Democracy is a joke. If it was really "We the people", would "we" be putting over two million of "us" in prison every day?
What individuals do, does count.
Hoa binh
Since 1492...2 million a day?...
Maliki is a stooge....the goal was always for a permanent presence until the last drop of oil is siphoned out. The military bases there are staging areas for more resource theft in neighbouring Iran. Watch for more body bags to return to the US.
Malfoyd, I have to agree with Kem Patrick. You say "Certainly you won't direct me to the 70+ percent of Americans who claim to disapprove of Bush and his policies. Those people are already converted, right?" Not so. They disapprove of his policies because they know it's a waste of money and they know we've lost in Iraq. But the vast majority of Americans still believe that we are trying to "liberate" Iraq and spread freedom across the world. They have no sense of American imperialism, and are completely unconscious of the concept of American exceptionalism. I recently raised these issues in response to a posting on a non-political site, a cross-section of average America, and I was absolutely reamed. You think people know the constitution is being shredded? An overwhelming theme in the comments I received was "our boys are fighting in Iraq to protect our constitution"!!!! The average person here has no clue. So the chance for any kind of revolution in slim, the population would simply not be behind it.
What does Hillary and Edwards and Obama say to this?
Silence?
Malfoyd, you're on the wrong damned soapbox! Tell us exactly what you're doing to right the wrongs the bush adminstration has perpetrated on us and the world. If you're saying we should pick up arms to fight this immoral cabal, then you go right ahead. I personally don't think we're not at that point yet. If we ever are, I may feel differently. But right now I vote my conscience, support those whom I think can make a worthy difference, live my life with as little impact on mother earth as I can, am politically active, speak what I think needs to be said even when it's not popular, and respect my fellow man as I'd like him to respect me.
By the way, what "perks" is bush providing us: illegal war without end, illegal wiretapping, secret prisons, stolen civil liberties, stacking of the courts with righ-wing ideologues, a soviet style propaganda machine, torture, death of habaeus corpus, crushing dissent? Are those the "perks" you're referring to? As for the spoils of war, tell that to the grieving families who have lost loved ones to bush's folly. Tell that to the soldiers who are still in harms way because their commander-in-chief is a moronic warmongor. Tell that to soldiers who have to figh the VA tooth and nail just for what they're owed. Tell that to the soldiers who will have to live the rest of their lives with the physical and emotional scars forced upon them by bush. Tell them about courage!
By asking are we willing as the iraqi insurgents to fight our unjust adminstration, do you imply we should resort to violence? If you are, you're as much a part of the problem as bush. I never expected to encounter such a sanctimonious comment as yours on commondreams. If you think you're doing more to correct the wrongs we all endure, some much more than others-namely the people of Iraq, then please enlighten us. Don't attack us. Save that for the people who got us here.
Gee, quite the news flash, seeing as how the Loonitary Decider has been proudly proclaiming Cheney's intention to keep the US Empire Enforcer Units in New Iraq until Jesus shows up to declare the oil's run out since day two.
But it's more fun to pretend the last seven years never actually happened and this is actually current "news."
Malfoyd, your hate isn't going to solve any problems. And you are as full of that as you are yourself!
Are you surprised? Is this really news?
Everyone knows that the US immediately started building military bases (fortresses) and an massive embassy (spying headquarters) in Iraq and now, 4 and one half years later, they're consolidating their position.
Plus, the US, outright kills Saddam Husein then installs a proconsul (Bremer, who opens Iraq oil to American companies and gives immunity to the Blackwater mercenaries) then appoints a figure head government (al-Malaki) which it then agrees to protect. American soldiers and mercenaries will be in Iraq for 50+ years, some will die and many they'll kill.
Can Americans spell immoral and illegitimate? Do they care what Bush does in their name?
I am not alone after all. I was getting paranoid there for a few minutes. I don't think Malfoyd is an American BTW and is not well read or informed on the subject. It is not a crime to be ignorant, we all are on some issues. I attempt to listen when I'm ignorant however and not dispay my stupidity.
Sometimes I fail there and take the lumps I so justly deserve.
@Malfoyd
Thank you to Malfoyd for shaking us all up a little. Yet I do not agree with you when you suggest that we should all, "shut up if we are not willing to revolt" This site may seem to you like a lot of whinnies wanting to voice disapproval for their government while at the same time enjoying the lifestyle that its policies provide. But I think CommonDreams.org is a lot more. This site is an excellent forum through which many of us Americans are forming new opinions about our country and its government, opinions that are often contrary to the propaganda of the culture we have been raised in. And changing a culture is a formidable task. What's the old saying, "We are all prisoners of our culture"?
Yes, we Americans have a lot of problems with our corrupt, imperialist government. And as you point our, open revolt has not yet happened. But at the present time our democratic system still exists. I know, it's barely limping along right now. But it's still there. And it seems to me that any democratic system is greatly affected by the political opinions of those who vote. In that respect, this site, CommonDreams.org, is doing an excellent job of encouraging critical thinking about our government. I am proud to live in a country where such forums exist and I am proud to recommend this site to anyone who is too disengaged from the reality of America to see its hypocrisies. It seems to me that if the opinions at this site help convince enough Americans to vote more rationally in the next election, it will be more than as you say, "fake protest".
I think Malfoyd is a Brit, possibly Canadian. But he could certainly play the part of the sterotypical obnoxious American perfectly. He has the gist down exactly.
As OREZ_ENO says, my comments did 'shake things up' a little, and that's not a bad thing.
As for CommonDreams.org, I visit at least once every day, often spending hours here reading every article. I have nothing but admiration for the site.
When I talk about 'putting up or shutting up', I mean that it is well past the time to put up. Your government has all the totalitarian tools in place to absolutely repress the coming revolt, and then it will be too late. American people, having tacitly accepted torture, will soon be subject to it. All your social networks are available through the surveillance data mining programs. Your fighting forces have been brutalized, and those that have turned aggressively psychotic have been siphoned off into mercenary forces like Blackwater where they will join Chilean commandos to patrol American streets and subjugate its population where needed.
Just as fpal wrote about the obvious course the Iraq war was always going to take, it should be obvious by now what course this administration means to take domestically in your country.
OREZ_ENO claims the American democracy still exists, but this is a mistaken belief. Face reality. Your constitution has been willfully destroyed with the goal of subjugating your population.
willybill asks what the first step should be. Ask yourself what your first step should be when you find an intruder in your house beating your children and abusing your wife. You don't think 'nonviolence'. You don't think 'dialog'. You think, 'stop this now', and you are motivated to take whatever steps are necessary to achieve that end. So the first step is to realize, now, and with certainty, that you have dangerous criminals in your midst. Only a deep realization of this fact will provide the motivation to do something about it.
Dear Mr. al Maliki,
Take Dubya's money. (Convert it to Euros ASAP) Kiss his skinny behind. Bring on the peace so the American troops have nothing to do but work on their tans and karaoke.
But don't sign the PSAs! Its Iraq's crude. Its easy to develop. You don't need the neocolonialists. Chances are oil will be the same price here, anyway.
Peace.
Please, Malfoyd...we are all aware of what the Bushies are doing. We live here. We just still have some hope that we can reconcile the travesty they have made of our democracy without armed rebellion. We know the facts, at least some of us do, and we are doing something. We may not be picking up guns, but we are doing something. If it ever gets to armed insurection, maybe you can come over and help. You do seem more than ready to start shooting.
Malfoyd, shouldn't you be spending your time on the Brown problem in England? We Americans are doing what we can to end this war.
If anyone should be committed, it's George Bush. And I don't mean to the occupation in Iraq.
Our power is weak because it is diffuse, spread over the country and world.
How can we concentrate that power to affect things to get what we want?
By identifying possibilities that can influence events at key points.
I offer again: Support Cindy Sheehan right now and make noise about it.
That will pressure Nancy Pelosi, who is a key to moving impeachment forward against Cheney.
Impeach Cheney and save the world. It's that simple.
After him Bush will be easy. Send him back to Crawfish to finish reading 'My Pet Goat'. I hear he's close to finishing it.
Then Pelosi becomes caretaker-and-first-woman President and then who needs Hillary?
That's all I want under my tree.
I'm sure this forever occupation in Iraq will be a boom for the recruitment of terrorists. Way to go bu$h......and for all the nincompoops that supported this administration and neocons.
-The military, economic and DIPLOMATIC "AGREEMENT" (no, it's not a "Treaty" for heaven's sake)would COMMIT US FORCES to defending the government of Iraq from INTERNAL(?) and external threats as well as fighting al-Qaida and... "ALL other 'outlaw'(anyone who stands in the way) groups regardless of affiliation (be they Democrats or Libertarians)", according to the declaration of principles released by the White House yesterday.
In return, Iraq pledged itself to "encouraging the flow of foreign investments to Iraq, especially American investments (or else Iraq "might could have a accident"...), to contribute to the reconstruction and rebuilding of Iraq". The promise was immediately seen as a potential bonanza for American OIL (Ooperation Iraq Liberation... in which we liberate Iraquis from their oil)companies.
Lute offered few details on the scale of future US troop levels in Iraq or permanent US bases. He noted that the agreement, because it was NOT a treaty, would NOT be subject to oversight by Congress.-
Yes, it's NOT a treaty, so UP YOURS CONGRESS! So say Bush. Even though it commits this nation to everlasting damnation, the Decider saith it is NOT a TREATY. It's a DUCK! Whadda ya gonna do 'bout it? More fun wordplay from the Orwellian leaders of this now-fascist nation. War=Peace, Occupation=Freedom, Science=Lies, Money=Goodness, Criticism=Treason, Quagmire=Winning, Law= Singning Statement, Environmentalism=Terrorism, Surveillance=Security. And Agreement does not equal Treaty. See how many Bushitts you can remenber... a fun game indeed. And don't forget, Our dear Oceana will win against... who-ever... for the War is not meant to be Won, the War is meant to be Continuous...because Big Brother tells you it is.
And to Voxclamantis, who wanted very much to join the crew of a pirate ship... Welcome aboard, me hearty! That's Cap'n Dick on the poop, with Frst Mate Georgie at the wheel o' our own ship, the Black Flag of Glory! Now get to swabbin'!
Holy cow!! Let's ease up a bit on poor Malfoyd. He's raised some scary ideas, and has done a good service to this string. His militant solutions are, we all agree, premature to say the least, but not unthinkable in some dismal possible future.
The people he should be talking to, the ones who in fact keep their guilty silence while our warlords go forth to secure cheap oil and other plunder from the poor of the earth, browse in the great central pasture of American politics. The spectrum, as it was described to me after the failure to stop the war in the Spring of 2003, is purely demographic: 20% pacifists (us), 35% hawks (them), and 45% cows (the vast, bovine, sleepy, undecided, acquiescent herd of middle Americans. Malfoyd is right that they should be ashamed of themselves and their country for this (we pacifists already are.) To speak to them he'll have to take out an ad on the sports page.
The question of what action to take beyond words speaks to our frustration that words often don't seem to be doing the trick. The landscape that lies beyond words could be an ugly place, and our adversaries are more comfortable there than we are. Something else needs to happen - another paradigm. And I confess I don't know what that might be.
Vote Republican for more of this sneaky, underhanded deceit. Ignore congress and the American people and do what you want. Go George, you are an example for all neocons.
Malfoyd doesn't know what he's talking about.
Armed revolution, like our first one? During the American Revolution, the colonists and the (British) government were similarly armed. Certainly not so today. Do you think the citizens could match the government's firepower?
The government is based here in the US - no need to transport men or arms (by sailing ship?!) across the Atlantic.
The press? Not a lot of opposition, although there was in the colonies. Which papers do you think would suddenly start printing the truth about this despot?
Even so, the treaty with Great Britain was hastily signed - because the Americans knew that they had not had not won the overwhelmingly decisive victory that my 40-year-old history textbook implied.
BTW, any time you want to compare wealth and perks head to head, let me know. Not everyone in this country is winning financially. There's not much for me to give up. I use less of the world's resources than most people I know. (I've never owned a car - nor even so much as a moped.) The Europeans I've known are better off - financially as well as socially - than I am.
I'd be glad to give you a first-hand look at what our crooked, incompetent 'health care' system can do to degrade every aspect of an individual's well-being.
I can also give you a few surprising illustrations of how the government actually works against individuals, including children.
IS ANYBODY ELSE having trouble with the editing function?
YES, LOTS OF US ARE.
Malfoyd:
First, you're absolutely right. Second, I don't take lectures from Europeans. You're the ones who started this mess anyway, getting into sailing ships, going around the world robbing and killing people. Third, You're absolutely right.
Don't worry, it will all be over soon, the planet is getting fed-up with the American empire. If Europeans weren't so determined to kill each other off, we probably wouldn't have ended up with this one, get rid of your facists before complaining about ours.
Whining makes me feel better!
Ramsay