Exceptions Are Proposed To Deadline Of Pullout From Iraq Cities

New York Times:

BAGHDAD -- The United States and Iraq will begin negotiating possible exceptions to the June 30 deadline for withdrawing American combat troops from Iraqi cities, focusing on the troubled northern city of Mosul, according to military officials. Some parts of Baghdad also will still have combat troops.

Read the whole story: New York Times

Comments

[noneIn2008]

No problem, the troops will be gone. We might leave "advisers" behind for a "few" years. If you want to understand change, pull out your thesaurus? The change seems to be in terms, not actions.

[wisecrack]

Surprising that people are paying attention to O's rhetoric all of a sudden.

[LorettaSingbiel]

Combat troops will continue to support Iraqi troops who are now in nominal charge of maintaining security in the Green Zone. Trainers and advisers can stay, under the terms of the agreement, and combat troops can re-enter on operations if invited by the Iraqis.

Our troops have been training Iraqi troops/police for SIX YEARS. ENOUGH is ENOUGH!

Al-Qaeda is there because WE are there!

Bush/Cheney declared SADDAM to be MORE "wanted dead or alive" than OSAMA ... and as a result have empowered IRAN (which DOES have WMDs) and imperiled PAKISTAN (which DOES have WMDs) ... and now WE want SADDAM'S LOYALISTS "brought back into the fold" to "stiffen Iraq into opposing Iran" ... OH WHAT A TANGLED WEB WE WEAVE!!!

The "general time horizon" has come for President Obama to declare OUR TROOPS more wanted ALIVE than dead, and rescue THEM and OUR ECONOMY from BUSH/CHENEY's war based on LIES and fought for OIL!!!

The BUSH Administration MUST be INVESTIGATED, INDICTED, AND INCARCERATED for WAGING WAR on the SOVEREIGN country of IRAQ!

Let us only HOPE that the IRAQI people can FORGIVE our PREVIOUS administration for DESTROYING their lifestyles, livelihoods and LIVES!!!

[Eidolas]

"The BUSH Administration MUST be INVESTIGATED, INDICTED, AND INCARCERATED for WAGING WAR on the SOVEREIGN country of IRAQ!"

Every day someone posts something along these lines and the answer is still: It will NEVER happen. However, today Iraq's prime minister denounced a deadly U.S. raid on Sunday as a "crime" that violated the security pact with Washington and demanded American commanders hand over those responsible to face possible trial in Iraqi courts.

So to b consistent, I guess that means the Obama administration "MUST MUST be INVESTIGATED, INDICTED, AND INCARCERATED for WAGING WAR on the SOVEREIGN country of IRAQ!"

Right?

[texasaggie]

Right. Or we could just say down with all of them and revolt.

[timberdoodle]

The citizens of countries like Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan have been killing each other for centuries and will continue on this trend for centuries to come regardless of what other nations try to change.

The U.S. is broke and needs to get out of both Iraq and Afghanistan as quickly as possible and forget about the war mongers who say if they leave the country will be engulfed in civil wars. They've been engulfed in civil wars as a way of life for ever and ever amen.

The only reason to be in these countries is to protect American business interests and keep them raking in the big bucks on the backs of the young men and women sent there to fight.

[StackedDeck]

I'd just like to point out that the U.S. can never be 'broke' since we can print our own money. A better term would be in a deficit, but I guess saying broke is a good fear mongering term to use in your rhetoric.

[truegreen]

Negotiate? negotiate what? tell the Iraqies the get their house in order, so we can pull our troops out.

[espressobeans]

It will never happen in this order. Why would it? Who would not want to let someone else do their dirty work for them?

I am really disappointed that President Obama didn't just start getting us out and wishing the Iraqis well like Candidate Obama urged. I expect more and more of these adjustments to conditions on the ground stories that mean that someone making money from all of these can count on us being there forever. I don't see how any of this is sustainable.

Get on the bus, Gus . . . Make a new plan, Stan. There are fifty ways to leave your lover.

[Counterpunch]

We do not need to waste valuable military lives and US money to protect the over-sized US embassy in Iraq, give it to George Bush for his presidential library, the Iraqi people will be so thankful to Dubya.

There might be enough room to build a stable at the embassy for all of George’s horses. He is a rancher right!!!

[dphilip]

You dems were right after all...Obama is a much better BS'er than Bush was.......hahahahah

[instagladiator]

Ouch!!

[colinmeister]

Just another reminder of why ANY promises made by ANY candidate for ANY party made during an election campaign should be treated as an empty promise at best, and an outright lie at worst.

[instagladiator]

True to form, so to speak. From what I can gather, over the past 100 or so years, you have only had one president who actually "had the guts" to DO SOMETHING for the peoples of your country and that was JFK, Jun 4, 1963 (little known fact).

[Mahi Joe]

And which country do you reside? Maybe we can look to the leadership of your country for great insights and ideas. You know....like that great substantive response of yours..."two wrongs don't make a right"

[texasaggie]

He not only stood up to the Fed, but wanted us out of Vietnam as well. We are amongst pygmies. Kennedy was the last of the giants.

[noneIn2008]

They are politicians, of course they lie. Dems and Reps equally guilty. Their job is to provide a facade while they serve the lobbyists. Part of the facade is to try to make the debate as Reps vs Dems, to distract the people from seeing the corruption of both. Instead of being able to say Bush was wrong AND Obama is wrong, people are caught defending the mistakes of both, to defend "their" party. It is freeing to discover that neither party serves the people and step back to see the facade.

[JakeMontero]

and so it begins... exceptions. next it will be a revised strategy.

[instagladiator]

You can count on it.

[MathIsTruth]

To be honest, during the campaign, I can't remember a time when Obama didn't qualify his Iraq withdrawal plans with a "conditions on the ground permitting" caveat. Do you?

[espressobeans]

Conditions on the ground will never permit. That's some catch, that catch-22.

[LorettaSingbiel]

I believe he said we will withdraw troops responsibly ... but I disagree that we need to be changing the "general time horizon".

What BUSH/CHENEY have broken CANNOT be fixed!

Victory (VIOLENCE) is just around the corner!

The Surge (SCOURGE) is working!

[Roy49]

I clearly do not understand. I retired from the miitary after 22 years of service. I was in Operation Urgent Fury, Operation Just Cause, Desert Shield, Desert Storm and others. Why the hell doesn't our military just pick up and leave? It drives me nuts that we are still over there...FOR WHAT?

[noneIn2008]

To feed the military industrial complex. They were panicked with the end of the cold war. How can a general build new toys if there is not an enemy?

[davemilk32]

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-tc-nw-briefs-04271apr27,0,5062509.story

[davemilk32]

Does iraq have there own army? If they do why do US troops have to be there

[postman606]

To protect the new embassy that is the size of a small city, and protect the interests of the American oil companies that have leases on Iraqi oil.

[monicaangela]

Bingo !!

[Soulsurfer]

Exactly. It's been the reason all along.

[espressobeans]

Someone has their finger on the pulse. Let Exxon hire mercenaries. I'm tired of subsidizing the already wealthy.

[LorettaSingbiel]

And protect the PROFITS of PRIVATE CONTRACTORS!

The Green Zone was handed over to Iraqi control Jan. 1, when the agreement went into effect. In addition to the United States-Iraqi patrols, most of the security for the Green Zone’s many checkpoints and heavily guarded entry points is still done by the same PRIVATE CONTRACTORS who did it prior to Jan. 1.

[Mahi Joe]

Think about it. You create an army in some country to turn it against it's own population. Just how effective do you think that will be? This whole deplorable situation in Iraq was destined to failure from it's inception. Best we can do now is minimize our losses and hit the road. What has Bush & Co. gained from this illgotten war? What? Saddam's gold plated pistol that Bush can show to his rich friends like some kind of 10 year old showing off his new toy? Bush failed and we and the Iraqi people have to suffer for his stupidity and short sightedness.

[noneIn2008]

Japan, Germany, North Korea.......? And, why do we still have troops and bases in these places?

[Mahi Joe]

I really do not think we have troops in North Korea as yet. As far as Japan and Germany, we are there only becuase their governments allow us to be there. We live by the rules set forth by Japan and Germany whereas we set the rules by which we are there in Iraq. Big difference. At any point in time we could leave both Japan and Germany and not expect their respective governments to start a civil war. Wish that were true of Iraq.

[morgan1]

This really is disgusting but it is the way the US does business around the world. There are always "exceptions" to the rule, and it is always in favor to US interests. How can bases be inside city boundaries but ruled to be outside? Oxymoron. This will be Bush's war and it will, indeed, be Obama's failure. It is time to call a spade a spade: No, boys and girls, we are not leaving Iraq no matter what the Iraqi'[s want. And, oh, by the way, the same for Afghanistan and next Pakistan that we have destabilized.

[Mahi Joe]

One can only fail at some action they started. All Obama is doing is trying to find some workable solution to the debacle created by Bush, Cheney, Rummie, Wolfowitz and Rice. Bush's legacy will be he LOST his war in Iraq and never came close to capturing the real criminal Bin Laden. Just like a repubbie to blame someone else for their own failures. Not buying it.

[instagladiator]

Do you mean that "two wrongs do not make a right" does not apply here?

[RRG64]

The Government of the United States is required to take all necessary steps to bring George W Bush and Donald Rumsfeld before a Court."
Manfred Nowak, U.N. Special Investigator on torture

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BRAlqkPbjP0

United Nations Official: Clear evidence Rumsfeld 'ordered torture'

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pPWMLwgmLq8

[Mahi Joe]

It is time to pack up and call it a day and start making preparations to leave Iraq. Unfortunately the inevitable will happen where a full scale civil war will break out amongst the population. After all these years of training Iraqi troops the time to test them will come. Bush got lucky, he started the war, created this mess and then left office without resolving the problems leaving President Obama with this mess. No matter what happens it is and always will be Bush's war.

[DonKrieger]

Here is the Status of Forces Agreement as it stands now:
http://publicservice.evendon.com/SOFA-17Nov2008M.htm

Don
http://publicservice.evendon.com
BLOG: http://DonKrieger.blogspot.com

[mergina]

Get us OUT OF THIS MISERABLE COUNTRY already. NO MORE EXCUSES. They are not a nation of babies, or a nation that can be ruled by outsiders. THEY WILL GET IT TOGETHER.

[NYC123]

I totally agree. We cannot continue to breast feed Iraq. If there leaders do not want to settle their divides, a civil war is imminent! The quicker we leave the quicker they will settle their issues on their own terms.

[cdnnewsjunky]

Sorry, you broke it, you fix it!