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A project of Common Dreams

For Immediate Release
Contact: Sam Husseini, (202) 347-0020; or David Zupan, (541) 484-9167

Iraq: Myth and Reality

WASHINGTON

President Obama met this afternoon with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki.

JAMES PAUL
Paul is executive director of Global Policy Forum
and has written extensively on Iraq. He said today: "For all the talk
of 'U.S. withdrawal' from Iraq, the reality on the ground is starkly
different. U.S. troops still patrol the cities, in flagrant violation
of the U.S.-Iraqi security agreement, while Washington remains hugely
influential in the politics of the country. The gigantic U.S. embassy
looms large in Baghdad, U.S. forces still hold thousands of Iraqi
prisoners in the vast U.S. prison camp in the southern desert, dozens
of U.S. military bases remain in place including the sprawling 'Camp
Victory' complex in Baghdad and Washington continues to press towards
its ultimate goal -- the de facto privatization of Iraq's vast oil
resources."

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