U.S. seeking 58 bases in Iraq, Shiite lawmakers say

[maddezmom]

Source: McClatchy

U.S. seeking 58 bases in Iraq, Shiite lawmakers say
More on this Story
PDF | Levin/Warner letter to Condoleezza Rice about the negotiations
By Leila Fadel | McClatchy Newspapers
BAGHDAD — Iraqi lawmakers say the United States is demanding 58 bases as part of a proposed "status of forces" agreement that will allow U.S. troops to remain in the country indefinitely.

Leading members of the two ruling Shiite parties said in a series of interviews the Iraqi government rejected this proposal along with another U.S. demand that would have effectively handed over to the United States the power to determine if a hostile act from another country is aggression against Iraq. Lawmakers said they fear this power would drag Iraq into a war between the United States and Iran.

"The points that were put forth by the Americans were more abominable than the occupation," said Jalal al Din al Saghir, a leading lawmaker from the Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq. "We were occupied by order of the Security Council," he said, referring to the 2004 Resolution mandating a U.S. military occupation in Iraq at the head of an international coalition. "But now we are being asked to sign for our own occupation. That is why we have absolutely refused all that we have seen so far."

Other conditions sought by the United States include control over Iraqi air space up to 30,000 feet and immunity from prosecution for U.S. troops and private military contractors. The agreement would run indefinitely but be subject to cancellation with two years notice from either side, lawmakers said.



Read more: http://www.mcclatchydc.com/world/story/40372.html

[maddezmom]

1. June 5, 2008 Crocker denies secret U.S. plans in Iraq

Crocker denies secret U.S. plans in Iraq
Published: June 5, 2008 at 5:01 PMOrder reprints | Print Story | Email to a Friend | Post a Comment
WASHINGTON, June 5 (UPI) -- Ryan Crocker, U.S. ambassador to Iraq, Thursday denied published reports about secret plans involving permanent U.S. military bases in Iraq.

Negotiations with Iraq regarding its security and sovereignty "will be a transparent process," Crocker said during a news conference in Washington.

The report, published in the British newspaper The Independent, said sovereignty talks included U.S. secret plans to build 50 permanent military bases, control Iraqi airspace and legal immunity for U.S. soldiers and contractors.

"The Iraqi system requires that the agreement go before their Council of Representatives," Crocker said. "It will have a full debate. It will all be out there in the open."

Crocker called the report an "injuring myth."

"Again, it's a negotiation in progress, so I can't tell you what it's going to look like at the end, but I can tell you that we are not seeking permanent military bases" or control of Iraqi airspace, Crocker said. "That is just flatly untrue."

more:http://www.upi.com/Top_News/2008/06/05/Crocker_denies_secret_US_plans_in_Iraq/UPI-95071212699678/

[SpiralHawk]

3. That republicon lie did not last long....

Thanks Maddezmom. K and r.

[saigon68]

9. 58 that sounds about right

Halliburton is about to make a killing (economic that is)

[maddezmom]

2. Jan '08 Bush Issues Signing Statement On Defense Act, Waiving Ban On Permanent Bases In Iraq»

Bush Issues Signing Statement On Defense Act, Waiving Ban On Permanent Bases In Iraq»
President Bush yesterday signed the 2008 National Defense Authorization Act after initially rejecting Congress’s first version because it would have allegedly opened the Iraqi government to “expensive lawsuits.”

Even though he forced Congress to change its original bill, Bush’s signature yesterday came with a little-noticed signing statement, claiming that provisions in the law “could inhibit the President’s ability to carry out his constitutional obligations.” CQ reports on the provisions Bush plans to disregard:

One such provision sets up a commission to probe contracting fraud in Iraq and Afghanistan. Another expands protections for whistleblowers who work for government contractors. A third requires that U.S. intelligence agencies promptly respond to congressional requests for documents. And a fourth bars funding for permanent bases in Iraq and for any action that exercises U.S. control over Iraq’s oil money.

In his “Memorandum of Justification” for the waiver, Bush cited his Nov. 26 “Declaration of Principles for a Long-Term Relationship of Cooperation and Friendship” between Iraq and the United States. This agreement has been aggressively opposed by both Republicans and Democrats in Congress as not only unprecedented, but also potentially unconstitutional because it was enacted without the agreement of the legislation branch.

more:http://thinkprogress.org/2008/01/29/signing-statement-iraq/

[stillcool]

4. Fucking A...58 bases?

in a country the size of California?

[Alcibiades]

5. "Look, there is going to be no occupation,"

said U.S. spokesman Adam Ereli.

Reaaaallly? What do you call what we've been doing? Oh, that's right, you call the occupation a war to make it sexier.

Meanwhile, they are trying to lock us in for another two years. Thankfully, the government in Iraq is there to save us from Bush on this one.

[LynnTheDem]

6. "more abominable than the occupation."

And they thought the bush regime couldn't make matters worse.

[ohio2007]

7. Thats what "Shia" says

"If we had to choose one or the other, an extension of the mandate or this agreement, we would probably choose the extension," Saghir said. "It is possible that in December we will send a letter the UN informing them that Iraq no longer needs foreign forces to control its internal security. As for external defense, we are still not ready."

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x3345322#3345905





Shia lawmaker says 58 bases wanted by the US ?
US has 30 major bases currently ?

I'll bet somewhere the truth may be the US is wanting 10 major bases and several airfields imo


I doubt deals will ever get done if Iraq lawmakers want to bargain like a camel salesman at the bazaar. The base decision will belong to the next president.

[wmbrew0206]

8. The US probably will want about 5 to 7 bases

I think you'll probably see the bases the US wants as:

Al Asad Air Base in the west
Baghdad International Airport
Balad Air Base - North of Baghdad
The Green Zone
The base in Mosul (don't know its name)
Basra Air Base
Taji Air Field

[flashl]

10. Iran tells Iraq: U.S. troops are 'main obstacle on the way to progress'

The Iraqi government finds itself in the middle of tensions between Tehran and Washington. 'Nobody would want to be in Maliki's shoes right now,' says one observer.

BAGHDAD -- Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Maliki concluded a three-day visit to Iran after meeting Monday with Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who warned that the continued presence of U.S. troops was "the main obstacle on the way to progress and prosperity in Iraq."

The session with Khamenei, Iran's top religious and political authority, served to further highlight the delicate position of the Iraqi government -- caught between the U.S. and Iran, each seeking to pull Iraq out of the other's sphere of influence.

...

Khamenei, however, said Iraq's "most important problem" wasn't the still-active Sunni Arab insurgency or the reining in of Shiite militias, but rather the continued presence of "occupying troops."

Khamenei and other Iranian politicians have repeatedly urged Maliki's government not to sign a status of forces agreement being negotiated with the United States. The agreement would provide a legal framework for the continued presence of U.S. troops in Iraq after the United Nations mandate expires at the end of this year.

LA Times