Amy Goodman: As Bush touts Withdrawal of 8,000 Troops from Iraq, Leaked Draft Agreement ......

[marmar]

.... Envisions Indefinite Occupation



from Democracy Now!:



As US Announces Withdrawal of 8,000 Troops from Iraq, Leaked US-Iraqi Draft Agreement Envisions Indefinite Occupation

On the heels of President Bush’s announcement of the withdrawal of 8,000 US troops from Iraq by February of next year, we speak to Iraqi blogger and political analyst Raed Jarrar. He has translated a recently leaked draft of an Iraqi-US agreement that outlines the long-term status of US forces in Iraq. Jarrar says the agreement does not set a deadline for the withdrawal of non-combat US troops in Iraq.


Guest:

Raed Jarrar, Iraqi blogger, political analyst and architect. he is a consultant to the American Friends Service Committee’s Iraq program in Washington, D.C.

AMY GOODMAN: We turn now to the bombing of or the occupation of Iraq. President Bush announced Tuesday he would withdraw 8,000 troops from Iraq by February. He also called for a, quote, “quiet surge” in the number of US troops in Afghanistan. The President outlined his plan in a speech at the Naval War College.

PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH: (General Petraeus has) just completed a review of the situation in Iraq, and he and the Joint Chiefs of Staff have recommended that we move forward with additional force reductions. And I agree. Over the next several months, we will bring home about 3,400 combat support forces, including aviation personnel, explosive ordnance teams, combat and construction engineers, military police and logistical support forces. By November, we’ll bring home a Marine battalion that is now serving in Anbar province. And in February of 2009, another Army combat brigade will come home. This amounts to about 8,000 additional American troops returning home without replacement.

AMY GOODMAN: Democratic presidential nominee, Senator Barack Obama, criticized President Bush for keeping troop levels in Iraq largely unchanged. Speaking in Ohio on Tuesday, Obama said, “In the absence of the timetable to remove our combat brigades we will continue to give Iraq’s leaders a blank check instead of pressing them to reconcile their differences.”

But neither Senator Obama nor President Bush made reference to a recently leaked draft of an Iraqi-US agreement that outlines the long-term status of US forces in Iraq. Iraqi blogger and political analyst Raed Jarrar has read and translated the leaked document. He says the agreement doesn’t set a deadline for the withdrawal of non-combat US troops in Iraq. He joins us also from Washington, D.C.

Welcome, Raed. Talk about what you have found, what this leaked document says that you’ve translated.

RAED JARRAR: Well, it’s a long document. It has twenty-seven articles. And most of them are outrageous. They give the US unprecedented authorities and rights and immunities. Maybe a major point that is related to this discussion is the fact that the agreement legitimizes or legalizes these long-term bases, that indefinite number of US troops will stay there.

Now, this is a huge issue that is not being discussed in the US enough. We usually get stuck in discussing troops level, how many troops are the US going to keep in Iraq, or what’s the mission of these troops. But from an Iraqi point of view, the majority of Iraqis and the majority of Iraqi parliamentarians and other representatives of the Iraqi community are demanding a complete withdrawal that leaves no permanent bases, no troops and no private contractors. And unfortunately, from this side, from the US side, both of the ruling parties and both of the mainstream candidates are planning to leave permanent bases with troops indefinitely.

[AzDar]

1. K & R ...

:kick:

[napi21]

2. A new US President should be able to re-negotiate that though.

Especially since the Iraqi's appear to prefer we LEAVE!

It doesn't surprise me that Shrub would never want to pull all troops out. After all, he's so proud of that BIG Embassy we built there!

[Bob Dobbs]

3. We will never pull all troops out of Iraq.

The war was about strategic oil reserves and their perceived national security importance. We have already built permanent bases there and the billion dollar green zone/embassy is further proof that we will be there until human extinction occurs, which will be before mc5plane's 100 years of occupation are up.

Obama will not be allowed to completely remove our military presence there, nor will he actually try.

[bdamomma]

7. bush is an oil man, that is main objective.

[bananas]

4. links

http://www.democracynow.org/2008/9/10/as_us_announces_withdrawal_of_8
http://raedinthemiddle.blogspot.com/2008/09/us-iraqi-agreement-leaked.html
http://www.afsc.org/Iraq/
Here's the pdf: Iraq Agreement Draft.pdf

[nichomachus]

5. The "withdrawal" is just a pre-election scam

It's like the "falling gas prices." Every day, our local right-wing rag has a screaming headline "Gas Price Drop for 17th Day in a Row," advising us that everything is now under control and the government's plan is working.

The withdrawal is another scam -- just to get positive headlines. There will be more. By election day, the Sheeple will be convinced that we are rolling in dough, peace has broken out, and that the GOP has saved the country.

And, I'm not ruling out the "capture" or killing of Osama bin Laden as an October surprise.

[madrchsod]

6. 3500 wisconsin national guard to go iraq .....

http://www.madison.com/wsj/topstories/303960

for many of these it will be their second tour

never ever believe anything this thing says....