US Threatens To Shut Down Vital Services Throughout Iraq Unless Government Signs Troop Agreement

McClatchy:

The U.S. military has warned Iraq that it will shut down military operations and other vital services throughout the country on Jan. 1 if the Iraqi government doesn't agree to a new agreement on the status of U.S. forces or a renewed United Nations mandate for the American mission in Iraq.

Many Iraqi politicians view the move as akin to political blackmail, a top Iraqi official told McClatchy Sunday.

Read the whole story: McClatchy

Comments

[Chlowina]

Blackmail. The US and other nations went in there and destroyed their country, economy and lives and now they're going to blackmail them to keep doing the same illegal stuff?

I hope they tell Bush to go to hell and back.

[getoffmedz]

Chlowina - just a one-way trip will suffice.

heh

[xenophon]

How many times have I heard Bush say we would leave tomorrow if the Iraqi government asked us to? More evidence that Bush and his neo-con buddies have never been motivated by a desire to actually help Iraq, but to occupy it as long as possible. More neo-con double talk.

January 1st sounds like a good opportunity for President Obama to start removing Americans from Iraq, and I hope he takes it.

I'm fed up with Bush! Enough already!

[Agent420]

On January 1st Barack Obama will be the President elect. He still is not President and therefore cannot do anything until January 20th, when he is sworn in as President.

[Durango]

Who do those Iraqi's think they are? A sovereign nation?

Don't they know that they are subjects of the American Empire and have to shut up and do as they are told?

And the fact that ANY Iraqi politician who supports the continued occupation of their country is liable to be hanged from a lamp post after the Americans finally withdraw is irrelevant to the wishes of the occupying force?

[Jingo]

Wait a minute... does this mean that if the Iraqis don't sign an agreement to allow the US troops to stay, the US will pull the troops out and "lose" the war? Also, who's gonna tell KBR and Halliburton that they'll no longer be raking in millions when they cease (over)charging Iraqis for services? And now that Iraq has found out that the US is raking in millions for these services, don't you think they might want to run it themselves?

The US military's negotiator is like a gunman in a standoff with police who holds the gun to his own head and says, "Stand back or I'll shoot."

[Agent420]

KBR and Halliburton are not raking in millions by overcharging the Iraqis, they are overcharging us as in The United States.

[RoveRoveRoveYourBoat]

...day 1 adgenda: Round up the neocons for prosecution and imprisonment

[RoveRoveRoveYourBoat]

...the USA is an organized crime organization

[Agent420]

Don't be silly, grow up and smell the coffee. Put down that cool aid.

[LetMeUnderstandThis]

Bush has ordered the Preemptive strike on Syria which was carried out this past weekend, he is ................

Obama/Biden 08

[Meteor]

Clue time: The American invasion of Iraq is a dismal failure.

[HST]

And if that doesn't work we will stand in a corner with our arms folded and hold our breath...


Man Bush REALLY doesn't want to stop the flow of $$$'s to his buddies.

[faith]

Right on point. If there is a U.S. dollar to be spent for the White House cronies it will be...doesn't matter to this group if we lose a few more troops, or if the Iraquis lose a few more children.

[gcallaghan]

What's hidden in the agreement that makes it so vital to be signed BEFORE UU leaves office? Is there some kind of hold harmless clause that protects him?

[vooter]

LOL! The United States: Offering Iraqis top-notch "service" since 2003. We live in a sick, sick country, folks....

[paixa3]

Pathetic

I will be overjoyed the day the Iraqi's kick the USA's arse OUT.

[Moshe]

Just another glimpe of the iron fist of greed and power lust that has been so superficially clothed in a phoney glove of "democracy"; the search for WMDs; and the other phoney pretexts given by Bush/Cheney for their continued occupation of Iraq.

Genuine democracy never arrives at the point of a gun or through coercion.

But that's standard operating procedure for greed and power lust.

[darthdarcy]

More compassionate conservatism, it's about time the government started treating Iraqi's like they do Americans..!

[mistlesuede]

This is appalling. I am so ashamed of this government. This is THEIR country! I think their message is that they want the current contract to expire and on 1/1/2009 they can tell the Americans to get out of their country. They want us gone, we want them home. Let it happen.
Stay strong Iraqi's and get your country back.

[dlbdpb]

This is another example of this administration's way to "how to win friends and influence people".
I hope they tell us to "cram it". Maybe then, this jerk will get our boys home where they belong. It has always been about owning Iraq along with their OIL. It's time we become a little humble with the rest of the world, before we are the "isolated country". We have decimated Iraq for our own greed and no-one can deny that.