Talks begin on extending US occupation of Iraq

[blindpig]

Talks begin on extending US occupation of Iraq

A meeting of the leaders of major factions in the Iraqi parliament agreed on Tuesday night to re-negotiate the Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) with the US government and thus sanction the presence of American forces beyond December 31, 2011. Without an extension, another mechanism would be needed to justify US troops remaining in Iraq.

The decision followed talks on Monday in Baghdad between Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and other Iraqi powerbrokers and the head of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Mike Mullen. Mullen repeated Washington’s demand that the Iraqi parliament “make a decision as soon as possible” on a SOFA extension. He declared that an agreement had to retain “privileges and immunities for our American men and women in uniform.” Under the current SOFA, US forces are immune from prosecution by Iraqi courts for any crimes committed while on combat operations or within their bases.

The Obama administration is determined to retain the strategic gains made by the US through the illegal invasion of Iraq in 2003. Washington wants ongoing access to key air bases in the heart of the Middle East, from which it can counter any threat to its interests in the world’s largest oil-producing region. The US is equally determined to retain a compliant American puppet regime in Iraq into the indefinite future. Iraq’s large untapped oil and gas resources are now being opened up to large-scale investment and exploitation. The US intends to shape the process and ensure that American corporations benefit.

Despite constant US pressure, the pro-occupation Iraqi elites have baulked for months at issuing an “invitation” for American forces to remain—particularly in light of the explosive political upheavals in Tunisia, Egypt and elsewhere in the region. For the overwhelming majority of Iraqis, the US occupation has been a catastrophe and they bitterly oppose any ongoing American presence. At least 1.2 million Iraqis lost their lives during the first five years of occupation, some four million were forced to flee their homes and large parts of the country were devastated.

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http://www.wsws.org/articles/2011/aug2011/iraq-a06.shtml