Iraqi parliament OKs US troops for 3 more years

[Midnight Mike]

Nov-27-2008

BAGHDAD (AP) - Iraq's parliament on Thursday approved by a wide margin a security pact with the United States that lets American troops stay in Iraq for three more years.

The vote in favor of the pact was backed by the ruling coalition's Shiite and Kurdish blocs as well as the largest Sunni Arab bloc, which had demanded concessions for supporting the deal.

Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki appeared to have won the comfortable majority that he sought in order to give the agreement additional legitimacy.

Parliament speaker Mahmoud al-Mashhadani said an "overwhelming majority" of the lawmakers who attended the session voted in favor of the pact by a show of hands. The parliament's secretariat, which counted lawmakers as they entered the chamber, said 220 out of 275 legislators attended.

http://apnews.myway.com/article/20081127/D94NA0RO0.html

[moose135]

Also from that same article:

Under the deal, U.S. forces will withdraw from Iraqi cities by June 30 and the entire country by Jan. 1, 2012. Iraq will have strict oversight over U.S. forces. The security pact meets an Iraqi goal of a clear timetable for the departure of American forces and has been described by al-Maliki as a path toward full sovereignty for Iraq.

So for years now, the Republicans have been blasting anyone wanting a timetable for withdrawl as "waving a white flag of surrender". Does this mean the Iraqis are surrendering? If so, let's just declare victory and bring the troops home now.

[Midnight Mike]

Also from that same article:

Under the deal, U.S.
So for years now, the Republicans have been blasting anyone wanting a timetable for withdrawl as "waving a white flag of surrender". Does this mean the Iraqis are surrendering? If so, let's just declare victory and bring the troops home now.

The President has said many times that when the Iraqis stand up, we will stand down, meaning when things in Iraq have calmed down & the deaths has ceased, the Americans will leave. The Democrats wanted to pull out of Iraq when the conflict was at its apex.

http://www.defenselink.mil/news/newsart ... x?id=16277

And judging from lack of headline news about Iraq, I would assume things have calmed down.

This is an early Christmas present for President-elect Obama

[moose135]

Here's what GWB had to say about it in 2007:

"The consequences of imposing such a specific and random date of withdrawal would be disastrous. Our enemies in Iraq would simply have to mark their calendars. They'd spend the months ahead plotting how to use their new safe haven once we were to leave."

He's also said repeatedly that it should be up to the "commanders on the ground" to make the decision about when it is safe to pull the troops out.

[Midnight Mike]

He's also said repeatedly that it should be up to the "commanders on the ground" to make the decision about when it is safe to pull the troops out.

*Bingo*, we have a winner! General Petraeus is supporting a phased withdraw due to the decrease in violence & the increased effectiveness of the Iraqi military, kind of the same reason why the Brits are doing a slow withdraw as well.