Blackmailing Iraq Over Status Of Forces Agreement
I think it would be wise to never "misunderestimate" George W. Bush. His time in office may be drawing to a close, but he appears to be determined to make sure his policies in Iraq stay intact far past his tenure. Yesterday, Patrick Cockburn in the Independent UK revealed that Bush had a plan to keep us in Iraq indefinitely, regardless of the result in November:
The terms of the impending deal, details of which have been leaked to The Independent, are likely to have an explosive political effect in Iraq. Iraqi officials fear that the accord, under which US troops would occupy permanent bases, conduct military operations, arrest Iraqis and enjoy immunity from Iraqi law, will destabilise Iraq's position in the Middle East and lay the basis for unending conflict in their country.
But the accord also threatens to provoke a political crisis in the US. President Bush wants to push it through by the end of next month so he can declare a military victory and claim his 2003 invasion has been vindicated. But by perpetuating the US presence in Iraq, the long-term settlement would undercut pledges by the Democratic presidential nominee, Barack Obama, to withdraw US troops if he is elected president in November.
The timing of the agreement would also boost the Republican candidate, John McCain, who has claimed the United States is on the verge of victory in Iraq – a victory that he says Mr Obama would throw away by a premature military withdrawal.
That's right, let's callously play with millions and millions of lives for some partisan advantage. The Iraqi government is understandably reticent to keep giving US forces carte blanche to destroy their country, so today, Cockburn has more:
The US is holding hostage some $50bn (£25bn) of Iraq's money in the Federal Reserve Bank of New York to pressure the Iraqi government into signing an agreement seen by many Iraqis as prolonging the US occupation indefinitely, according to information leaked to The Independent.
US negotiators are using the existence of $20bn in outstanding court judgments against Iraq in the US, to pressure their Iraqi counterparts into accepting the terms of the military deal, details of which were reported for the first time in this newspaper yesterday.
Iraq's foreign reserves are currently protected by a presidential order giving them immunity from judicial attachment but the US side in the talks has suggested that if the UN mandate, under which the money is held, lapses and is not replaced by the new agreement, then Iraq's funds would lose this immunity. The cost to Iraq of this happening would be the immediate loss of $20bn. The US is able to threaten Iraq with the loss of 40 per cent of its foreign exchange reserves because Iraq's independence is still limited by the legacy of UN sanctions and restrictions imposed on Iraq since Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait in the 1990s. This means that Iraq is still considered a threat to international security and stability under Chapter Seven of the UN charter. The US negotiators say the price of Iraq escaping Chapter Seven is to sign up to a new "strategic alliance" with the United States.
The threat by the American side underlines the personal commitment of President George Bush to pushing the new pact through by 31 July. Although it is in reality a treaty between Iraq and the US, Mr Bush is describing it as an alliance so he does not have to submit it for approval to the US Senate.
Iraqi critics of the agreement say that it means Iraq will be a client state in which the US will keep more than 50 military bases. American forces will be able to carry out arrests of Iraqi citizens and conduct military campaigns without consultation with the Iraqi government. American soldiers and contractors will enjoy legal immunity.
The US had previously denied it wanted permanent bases in Iraq, but American negotiators argue that so long as there is an Iraqi perimeter fence, even if it is manned by only one Iraqi soldier, around a US installation, then Iraq and not the US is in charge.
The US has security agreements with many countries, but none are occupied by 151,000 US soldiers as is Iraq. The US is not even willing to tell the government in Baghdad what American forces are entering or leaving Iraq, apparently because it fears the government will inform the Iranians, said an Iraqi source.
The fact that Iraq's financial reserves, increasing rapidly because of the high price of oil, continue to be held in the Federal Reserve Bank of New York is another legacy of international sanctions against Saddam Hussein. Under the UN mandate, oil revenues must be placed in the Development Fund for Iraq which is in the bank.
Perhaps after his presidency Bush will get on a plane and get over to Iraq.
It is about time he did some service to his country.
This is the ultimate plan.. to occupythe region at all cost.......several reasons but i believe for crude. this has been looked at by u.k. and the u.s. for many years...they pulled it off
Just hang in there Iraq. You'll get your money and your country back, and we'll get our men and women home to safety where they belong.
This criminal son of a bitch, low life preznit ape that we have in the White House needs to be roasted alive for his crimes against humanity!!
None of these "agreements" will be worth a damn under the next president. Nice try, Georgie, but nobody has to honor your crooked arrangements. And the last thing the rest of us are worried about is your disgusting legacy--a legacy of failure, incompetence, and cronyism.
I suggest that Obama send the soon-to-be-former-president Dubya Bush to Iraq for an 'Outcome Tour' of the country while troops withdraw from that nation, for the duration of that withdrawal.
Tell Bush to "Bring 'em on" as he carries a rifle into Iraq-nam alone. Tough guy, right?
Maybe a snort of coke, a gulp of Jack Daniels, and a big diaper would be in order?
Agree with bush if he agrees to physically stay there with our troops.
Maybe he could strap on his
sexsix shooter?Blackmail. Another crime added to this administrations growing list of crimes.
Impeach, try, convict and send these criminals to prison. Now!
Hulk @ 3:
They need to hold out until Bush is out of office and Obama release their funds for reconstruction. Get Haliburton and the mercenaries out and allow the Iraqis to rebuild their own country. It will put their citizens to work and reduce any violence.
I'm speechless...what in the fuck is goin on?
He will declare victory to help McCain and walk away.
Sweet Zombie Jesus on Toast, what a fucking President! What a fucked-up Administration!
There must be a reckoning.
one word describes Bushco's Imperial tactics DURESS
Ron @ 9:
Haliburton and the mercenaries can have new contracts to clean up the DU in the soil.
Send out the execs to personally oversee the work.
President Poopy-pants has said there will be no "permanent" military bases in Iraq. There could, however, be U.S. military bases in Iraq for the next 999 years, which would not technically be permanent.
we have to stop saying it is by "bush" because the moron isn't capable of understanding these deals. He was considered by Ronald Reagan to be dumber than a post, doesn't that tell you he doesn't do anything? Reagan was an idiot? It is Cheney that is emperor. We need to lift the veil of this crap and stop pretending a retarded, alcoholic drug addict is the one in charge of anything.
I'm going with this. Just so the shock isn't to great if it does in fact manifest.
"It is almost certain we will be at war with Iran before a new President is inaugurated: now that Obama has capitulated to the Lobby, nothing but Divine Providence can stop it."
And the Dems in Congress go "baah, baah, baah"
Since when does playing with millions and millions of lives for some partisan advantage deter a Republican?
Haven't you figured out the Republican mindset yet?
WIN. DOMINATE. CONTROL. AT. ALL. COST.
What's a few hundred thousand lives (US or otherwise) compared to the benefits of money, power and domination?
Our Founding Fathers foresaw this situation.
Per the Constitution, a binding agreement with another nation (i.e., a treaty) must be ratified by the US Senate for it to become US law. The Geneva Convention is an example of such a ratified treaty; it therefore is the "law of the land", equal in statue to any other US law. But any non-ratified agreement that President Bush makes will not be binding and may instantly be nullified by a new President.
The Wanderer @ 12:
How DARE you use the lords name in such a manner!!! It's Jeeeeebus!
But yeah, this is such a fuckin nightmarish era we're livin...I just hope Obama will turn us around...
many of you probably have seen this.....wow...bush is going for it big time
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world
Any "Iraqi" leader who would sign this deal would be signing his death warrant. It might take thirty years of resistance, but the Iraqi people would shake off this yoke eventually. For previous examples, see Iran c. 1958.
But don't expect anybody to actually look at history.
The only legacy Bush will serve is to bolster the pockets of war profiteers. That's what this war has been about all along. I haven't decided if Bush is a big enough moron to not know how he is being used.
Maybe the US can sign the whole thing over to Blackwater then kick them out of our country.
goat hussein sage @ 18:
It's pathetic. Completely ignore the people who voted them into the majority.
No further comment.
Carol @ 8:
let's not forget supporting a known terrorist organization by essentially recruiting for al qaeda
Since I am not an expert on foreign relations, I wonder, based on this paragraph from the article: "The threat by the American side underlines the personal commitment of President George Bush to pushing the new pact through by 31 July. Although it is in reality a treaty between Iraq and the US, Mr Bush is describing it as an alliance so he does not have to submit it for approval to the US Senate."
If this is NOT a treaty, why would the next President (hopefully Obama) have to honor it? It is NOT a treaty, so he wouldn't have to go along with Bush's "commitment" to the Iraqis (or his bullying, which I think is the more realist term). Obama could simply say that since this is not a treaty, the "policy" of the new administration has changed, withdraw the troops and move on to fixing the rest of the Bush Admiistration's messes.
The war criminal Bush can make any kind of agreement he wants. And, the instant Obama is swor-in as president, he can sign an order ordering all troops home with all their equipment. We are not obliged to stay there, regardless what Bush arranges, because any such obligation can only happen under authority of treaty. There is no way he is ever going to get Congressional approval for such a treaty. It's not going to happen, if for no other reason than the politicians knowing they would be lynched in the streets if they approved such a thing.
Additionally, the Iraqi people - a majority of them - have already stated that they will not recognize the authority of any government that allows such an agreement and would consider it illegitimate, null and void no matter who signs it. They aren't going to accept such an assault on their national sovereignty.
Further, it makes it all the easier to prove a war crimes case against Bushco, because it becomes almost impossible to subsequently argue that the war of aggression was for anything other than conquest for purposes of colonization, an illegality.
Bush is indulging in more of his infamous spite. It's going to rebound on him and the entire Republican party (glad to see it). Fuck him and his spite.
JFC--what a mess. Nothing these crooks would do would surprise me...they should have been impeached immediately after the new Congress was sworn in in 2007.
Thanks a lot, Nancy.
Old Billy Hussein @ 23:
i agree maliki will have his head on a stick.....he's done if he signs
Why is Iraq's 50 billion dollars in our bank?
Isn't withholding that money illegal?
I guess, just add it to the list. Can't the Dems see the problem with trying to run out the clock? Can we please START impeachment proceedings?
And if he declares "victory" will anybody in their right mind believe it? These guys have seriously fucked over millions of people, and for what? How is that to be considered a victory by any standard? I know this is an old concept but won't someone PLEASE suck their dicks so they can be impeached!
karl @ 2:
Plus, now that the media induced hysteria over Obama and Hillary is winding down, you do a little catch up in business and economic news and one realizes we've sunk even deeper into the shit during all this.
"permanently occupy bases ...."
Think about it folks ... what could possibly go wrong ....?
Hey. I'm Italian.
The Bush Family plays by Mafia rules.
So what is fueling Iraqi insurgency against American Occupation?
Do not Iraqis understand that Americans only want to "help" Iraq and Iraqis become democratic nation like USA?
Why do Iraqis resent Americans and do such terrible things against Americans?
One can only hope the Iraqis will throw off this American neo-19th century attempt at colonialism/imperialism in Iraq.
Americans got kicked out of Vietnam.
Americans evidently deserve based on Bush/Cheney WH lie telling,warmongering and playing puppeteer to Iraqi "government" puppet to be kicked out of Iraq.
Is President George W. Bush stupid enough to attack Iran in last few months of his thus far fully ruinous WH reign to phuck things up good for coming Obama WH?
Stupid enough? Yes.
Fully ruinous? Yes.
Trying to phuck things up for Obama WH? Yes.
That's a good way to force an alliance between Iraq and Iran... Iran would be one of the few countries to make up the money lost of Iraq doesn't agree to be bullied. Then what happens when the Quds (sp?) Force moves in, and Iran buys out Blackwater et. al. I have a feeling al maliki has been meeting with Iranians to find a way out of this QUAGMIRE.
But then again, I don't know nearly enough to make such claims
Can anyone tell me what an Iraq Victory is?
shootthatarrow @ 35:
How can they FU things anymore then they already have for Americans? If Obama wins, he will face a tide of woe. I hope he is able to inform the public what we are in for.
So much for freedom and democracy in the middle east, eh W?
Hey, I have an idea, the next president, and of course this assumes that W isn't impeached although he should be, should appoint W as the Iraqi ambassador. Give him an office in Baghdad, maybe in Sadr City so he can enjoy the freedom he's brought to the Iraqi people! Or put him in jail, I say, either way, win-win!
L.A. Confidential @ 32:
you got it ........i can it now .....obama too risky in these conditions and of the real answer is just the opposite
L.A. Confidential @ 38:
I'm surprised Obama, Clinton, McLame or anyone would want the Presidency after GWB's reign. He's leaving them the equivalent of a stinking pile of shit on Jan. 9, 2009, that will take years (maybe multiple terms and more than one Presidency) to clean up.
Tarro @ 37:
for the neocons occupation is the victory....they believe we need to get it before someone else does.......china
jac @ 39:
I'd say make the Boy-king an ambassador of Iraq, but sign an executive order that says he cannot live and/or work in the heavily protected Green Zone. That would be the only fitting punishement for Chimpy.
Sixty four years and zero days ago, one hundred and fifty five thousand Allied troops stormed the beaches of Normandy.
Nine months later the war in Europe was won.
Five years ago and 90 days ago we invaded Iraq, and we today have one hundred and fifty five thousand troops sitting there.
dying and suffering for fuck all beyond imperial oil profits for a select greedy few at the top of the economical pyramid,
while we plebes are screwed up the arse with high gas prices and a failing economy due tot he debt and mismanagement of our government.
They are still there dying at a rate of one hundred plus per month,
and McCain and the other greedy morons want to keep us there for one hundred years,
at a death rate of fifteen hundred a year they will all be home and buried six feet under,
a ruthless way for the republicans and neocons to bring them home.
Liberal AND Proud @ 34:
Please, stop giving the Mafia a bad name.
This type of BS is what happens when the US Media concentrates its lenses on the Hillary/Obama/McCain campaigns, and not paying attention to what that SOB in the White House is up to.
Ignorance is bliss
I say what is the worry? Let them sign an agreement. All we have to do is break the agreement once Obama gets in office. Just like Bush did to our Constitution and the Geneva Convention. No problem.
Can you say "Bush Crime Family"?
I used that term at work yesterday, and a couple of people laughed out loud. They'd never heard it before, and thought it was quite appropriate.
I reminded them of Prescott Bush and his business dealings with the Third Reich.
These people will get off scot-free and then decamp to Paraguay, a favorite refuge of despots and fascists.
ferrofluid (Obama 08) @ 13:
Any agreement signed under duress is illegal. If they sign it can and will be thrown out.
akvagabond @ 46:
tabloid mentality.......it's a disgrace
Tarro @ 37:
Total Domination
Republican Banana @ 45:
Yeah, at least the Mafia has honor.
L.A. Confidential @ 51:
To keep America in a perpetual state of war so the military-industrial complex can cash in and the President can keep his war-time unlimited powers.
Blackmail.... Another smooth move out of the king stratagerizer and his big brain advisors at neocon central.. Well (snark alert), these are definitely some of the 'best' governmental practices we'll ever see in our lifetimes (hopefully).. Besides, everyone ha ha knows, that other than blowing the fuck out of a country and its economy, clearly blackmail is the next best way to win those hearts and minds huh....
PFFT! Che-rist! Where the fuck am I? What kind of crazy alternate reality have I woke up in???? I clearly remember growing up and living in a place where none of this kind of shit would ever have been tolerated....This is a freakin nightmare that just keeps on keepin on... I guess the only saving grace I can hold on to at this point, is the fact that any deal done, can be undone and that includes this one... I don't think anyone with any sense, wants to honor Chimpies deals after he's packed up and headed to south America....
The best, and really the only thing, we can and should do as a nation after that cretin and his syndicate has bailed, is to flush every last one of his policies and agreements right down the toilet and start fresh on all of it... No more planned embassies the size of Rhode Island, no more private mercenary armies on the public dime, no more scheming on stealing other countries oil, no more war of agression over any kind of greed...Shitcan all that and start over.......... IF we're all damed lucky and Bush/McCain doesn't pull some october swindle to invalidate the coming election, that is where the nations recovery begins... With those objectives first and formost in mind... But we all need to understand...That is strictly the beginning, it's gonna take years... years to get this era behind us.....Years to repair the damage this bastard has done to this nation........JD
227 days... that 1600 too many.
L.A. Confidential @ 51:
An Iraq empty of annoying natives, classic imperial genocide
We've been neoconned, the neo-conservatives have ruined America, they have brought America to it's knees in the name of protecting Israel.
Frybread @ 53:
Case in point: The price of bullets is skyrocketing.
xoites defends Constitution @ 49:
Only the Maliki gov stooges will support and sign it, everybody else will condemn it and fight against it and the occupiers.
ferrofluid (Obama 08) @ 59:
And the people who fight against it -- the Iraqi nationalists and rebels -- will be labeled anti-American, insurgents, and terrorists by the U.S. military, Iraqi stooge government and Western media.
bush and company are working very hard so there is no way out.....the people of the u.s. want out at least 80% of them do....but this administration has shown and continues to show this is not a republic has that ancient rome feel to it
ferrofluid (Obama 08) @ 59:
Speaking of the Iraqi Government, i heard a radio piece interviewing Iraqi's who all said they will not participate in the next election.
So much for the spread of Democracy.
D.G. Bowman @ 48:
Its amazing how many people think its all coincidence and just politics as usual and cosmic bad luck when the economy and things go south,
they dont realize that its out and out crooks and incompetents that cause the problems in gov.
I want to hear one, just one, cogent argument for NOT impeaching Bush & Cheney.
I consider how eager we all seem to be for it, all the information in the press daily that screams for it, how we voted into office a Democratic congressional majority who could initiate it, how better off the world would be without him as the head of this great nation, how quickly the GOP started impeachment hearings against President Clinton for lying about sexual relations that didn't get anyone killed, telecom immunity, defying the constitution, poor management of the war, of the Katrina aftermath, 911, etc.
One argument against impeachment of this criminal.
I have never had so much disdain for a politician or public figure as I have for Bush. His hubris/arrogance is everything I hate in a human being let alone the President of the United States. He let the job go to his head and forgot that we were the most powerful nation on the face of this earth not just because we can blow another country off of it.
kit wilson @ 6:
Oh, sweet.........but he has to take his evil VP, and his brothers, and his cabinet, and his Brownie, his foxsnooze station, novak, miller, katy hairass............sorry. Trash collection day can't come soon enough.
xoites defends Constitution @ 62:
Maliki is dogmeat, just a matter of time before his regime collapses.
jac @ 64:
Ok, here goes:
Not enough time for the process.
We need another device besides impeachment.
Seems to me the hurry is the elections in Iraq. With the chance that many will be elected that will want the US out there would be no way they would vote to agree. If they can just hold out till October.
jac @ 64:
You can measure a man's character by looking at what he does with power. In this case, the Boy-king is a piece of shit.
xoites defends Constitution @ 67:
Time is not important, life is important.
Impeach now, plenty of time for trials and such next year, Bush and Cheney can rot in a federal prison cell for months.
Frybread @ 69:
Having character to messure often expidites the process.
ferrofluid (Obama 08) @ 70:
You misunderstood me. There is not enough time left in his term to get through the process.
We need a better solution.
Bush has installed the infrastructure (mega military bases, world's biggest, shiniest embassy) to insure that the PSAs (Oil Production Sharing Agreements) are instituted and remain in place to enrich Exxon and the rest of the Penguin's Secret Energy Task Force. Obama may bring home the combat troops, but I suspect we'll have troops in Iraq for some time, i.e., till the oil runs out.
This is an example of Bush bringing democracy to the middle east. I think once President Obama takes over, we need to look at war crimes and give this scumbag a piece of his own medicine. We can use "enhanced interrogation techniques" to make him tell us all of the things he has done. Then we can sit him in Gitmo for several years and try him in a kangaroo court after several years of not knowing if he was going to be tried or not. Give him the same treatment as he has given those who are there now. He, Cheney and the rest of their crime cabal all should be put someplace to rot out the rest of their lives. Get rid of their expensive clothes, the orange jumpsuits are more their style. God do I hate them.
Colonialist extortion at it's "best".
America! Fuck yeah! Goddamn towel heads are sittin' on OUR OIL!!
What say you, Mr. Obama?
xoites defends Constitution @ 72:
Impeachment is just the act of removing from office, trials in the Senate can be done later.
The important thing is to impeach them NOW, get it on record that they were removed from office,
otherwise the history books will record his presidency as a success.
xoites defends Constitution @ 72:
i know what would happen in ancient rome...i know what happened in ancient rome
EJG @ 74:
No, we can not use "enhanced interrogation techniques" to make him tell us all of the things he has done. We will make that illegal. No, we can't sit him in Gitmo for several years and try him in a kangaroo court after several years of not knowing if he was going to be tried or not. That will be illegal.
We can charge him on some of the crimes on this list and put him in prison where he belongs.
liberalHUSSEINmoderation @ 10:
Really???
I thought that we'd all learned to expect this crap on a daily basis by now.
If mccain became president would he have trouble leaking?
ysbaddaden @ 80:
Why? Is he having trouble now?
This agreement doesn't have a chance in hell of standing. This is just Bush being the asshole that he is trying to continuously piss everyone off.
moonsha @ 82:
I think you are right and i certainly hope you are.
L.A. Confidential @ 17:
Epic Fail.
xoites defends Constitution @ 78:
I know, but that is what they deserve.
slippy hussein toad @ 84:
after the olympics in china of course
moonsha @ 82:
Really? He has the executive authority to do it, not that the Congress would stop him anyway, and Iraqis are dependent on us, so they need that 50 Billion Dollars. Once he establishes permanent military bases it will be nearly impossible to withdraw our forces, making Barack Obama seem foolish for suggesting it is possible. Moreover, "everyone" doesn't have a say in this, only George W. Bush.
EJG @ 85:
We deserve better. I refuse to denegrate myself or my country just because they did.
EJG @ 85:
Can we make an exception just this once in order to give future megalomaniacs some pause before they start their own murderous campaigns?
Chris H. @ 87:
And next January Obama can burn the agreement in the Rose Garden for the whole world to see.
Che's Lounge @ 89:
That will work.
Just like the Death Penalty stops murders from happening in Texas.
roobeer @ 73:
Most Iraqi factions have already stated that they won't honor any of those agreements either, because they are considered to have been brokered by an illegitimate puppet government. Iraq is a sovereign nation, and can renationalize their resources as they see fit. That's one of the reasons Bushco hate the "anti-American" al-Sadr so much; he has stated that he will accept no foreign control or exploitation of Iraqi oil resources.
With the stroke of a pen, Barack Obama can write an executive order making the boy Bush's deal null and void. The boy Bush should worry about getting his sorry ass out of the USA ASAP because when either Hillary Clinton or John Edwards becomes Attorney General, the Bush/Cheney Cartel will be in trouble.
What will stop the next megelomaniac from taking power in Washington (and frankly the only thing) is an involved electorate and close scrutiny of the doings in DC by a truly free press (not corporately owned) and the creative writings and actions by those who oppose them.
Before Saddam Hussien was beheaded by hanging maybe a few other dictators or despots should have been killed to disuade him?
Poor foresight i suppose.
kurds and sunni leaders want the agreement it will dilute the shia strongholds.......setting the table for exacerbate larger proxy war between u.s. and iran....neither one of presidential candidates have any control in this matter...mccain more in line with what is going on...of course....obama will have to possibly make changes and compromises.....
karl @ 22:
From this article:
Surprise, surprise, surprise.
xoites defends Constitution @ 88:
Agreed the worse thing that can happen to dictators and despots is languishing in a prison cell publicly ridiculed and disgraced for the history books.
Looks like Chimpy worked his magic, the Dow is down to 12,209 March levels.
Bushco motto ,
You pay us to be assholes ,
The rest of the time we do it for free .
ferrofluid (Obama 08) @ 98:
Yep, 2pm the Chimpy speech and the Dow went from meander to a sharp downturn, and Oil jumped to $139
Since when did spreading democracy mean you have to wear a clothespin clamped on your nose?
I prefer my nipples and scrotum.
matter of time........check it out a quick read..
http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=080606073645.fjrccoo1&show_artic...
I just called the Iraqi embassy in Washington D.C. I left a message with the ambassador's answering system asking them to hold off on any agreement for as long as they could. I also acknowledged the $50Bln we are holding from them and indicated I understood the pressures that causes. Anyone seeking to do the same can do so at (202) 742-1600. You can also go to this website: http://iraqiembassy.us/home.htm
The only way to achieve victory in Iraq...is to give them all US citizenship....and have them accept it.
Obama should state that he, when president, reserves the right to renegotiate any agreements not ratified by congress. He doesn't commit to any 'named' policy, signals to Iraqis and us that he will use his own authority and gives recognition to congress's power in the matter of treaties. He should do this in congress as part of a congressional debate on the current problem.
If the right slams him for it then it becomes part of the public debate which shines the sun in the dark corners the neocons wish people wouldn't look. If they don't then at least he will have declared his independence from Bush's attempt to tie his hands.
Win-win!
I have the feeling that our good friends in office have never realize the effects of Chalmer Johnson's study on *Blowback*... when will out friends in office begin to mischaracterize the Iraq occupation as a victory - the statistics are being twisted - but the overwhelming effect has been negative. Millions displaced and countless dead on both sides. Bush is no leader.
Bush must pay the ultimate price for killing pepole the world over and being responsible for causing the death of many more. I am saddened that our buddy in chief has the audacity to continue to propagate the propaganda - when will our country stand for the ideals for which so many died for over the years - I love the Normon Solomon documentary *War Made Easy*, because it illustrates how our government has lied to us at the cost of blood shed by the most vulnerable among us.
Respect is always earned. In the kitchen, you are only as good as your last meal and Bush will be judged by the long string of broken dishes and foul smell emanating from the proverbial kitchen of death that they have devised with his neo-conservative posse.
Shame on you !
Sincerely,
A Citizen of this country that is growing more and more disgusted with this Georgie.
Obama will simply throw Bush's scheme out with the rest of the Bush trash.
Carol @ 8:
Yes, please. NOW! Before the list of crap that will need to be undone grows even longer.
One word (sort of): CHENEY.
Tarro @ 37:
Disneyland opens in the Green Zone. Try out Never-Never Land.
ferrofluid (Obama 08) @ 44:
Haven't heard one word on the anniversary of D-day on the news today.
Thanks for comparing past success to the current failures.
We've got their cash. But they've got our troops at their mercy. Should they turn, en masse, against U.S. personnel, it will be a bloodbath.
Looks like the truth behind the invasion is finally coming to light. It wasnt due to terrorism, or WMDs, or violated treaties and resolutions, or even to liberate anyone.
It was a good old fashioned conquest, pillage and plunder exercise. Murdering hundreds of thousands of people, taking over their land, stealing all their stuff, and instituting a permanent long-term reign of fear, oppression and brutality to quell dissent.
What more evidence do we need to arrest and jail George Bush and his minions, seize their assets ( these being proceeds of terrorism and crime ), and charge them all with Crimes against Humanity and Crimes against Peace? Even such a heinous vile thing like mass murder is one of the least of the crimes these bastards have committed.
Long Tooth @ 112:
Agreed, US forces will suffer big time and so will Iraqis in retaliation when the US's WMDs are used properly in anger,
ditto with anything Iran related, yes the US can attack but so can Iran fight back, and we end up with a massacre.
Of course the chickenhawks and neocons will be elated at the slaughter.
There is a moral question to large scale slaughtering of lesser equipped enemy forces, as happened in the BAsra road route and wholesale killings, there comes a point in warfare when mercy is the proper thing to do, not kill them all in revenge.
fastfeat @ 111:
I would imagine a lot of the modern MSM and PR flacks dont even learn about WW2 or even more modern conflicts,
Dana Perino (current
bimbovoice of Sauron) comes to mind.Geoff @ 113:
Well, that was their optimal outcome. They're more than happy to have killed lots of foreigners as a distraction from pillaging and plundering the citizens for which they theoretically work. Barring war with Iran, or another false-flag terror attack... you KNOW Cheney's going right back to the board of directors at Halliburton next year.
And, regarding all those comments about how the agreement won't stick, and Obama can just throw it out... That's just a Republican smear waiting to happen. "Obama didn't give the (non-)treaty a chance! All the violence you see now is a result of his breaking Bush's Alliance! Obama's lowered our standing with the world -- we don't honor our agreements!" ad nauseam
EXTORTION is not Blackmail! It's not new to the Bush Administration as
Extortion was used by Bush and Company to gain immunity from prosecution in the International Criminal Court from 100 countries by threatening to cut off aide.
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