----- Forwarded Message ----
From: mary hartman <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Sent: Wednesday, July 9, 2008 1:20:16 PM
Subject: FW: Progress in Iraq-interesting
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From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Date: Wed, 9 Jul 2008 09:46:34 -0400
Subject: Progress in Iraq-interesting
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Mary, note that our State Department declined to comment, and Iraq is worried
about the US demands! Also note what I highlighted in red and remember what
Ron Paul said about the War in Iraq! Rachelle
Iraq raises idea of timetable for US withdrawal
By QASSIM ABDUL-ZAHRA and SEBASTIAN ABBOT - Associated Press Writers - 7/7/2008
5:05:00 PM BAGHDAD - Iraq's prime minister said Monday his country wants some
type of timetable for a withdrawal of American troops included in the deal the
two countries are negotiating.
It was the first time that Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has explicitly and
publicly called for a withdrawal timetable _ an idea opposed by President Bush.
He offered no details. But his national security adviser, Mouwaffak al-Rubaie,
told The Associated Press that the government is proposing a timetable
conditioned on the ability of Iraqi forces to provide security.
In Washington, the State Department declined to comment on the ongoing
negotiations and said officials in Washington were not yet entirely sure what
al-Maliki had said.
"This falls in the category of ongoing negotiations, and I'm not going to talk
about every single development, every single development in the negotiations,"
spokesman Sean McCormack told reporters.
Al-Maliki said in a meeting with Arab diplomats in Abu Dhabi that his country
also has proposed a short-term interim memorandum of agreement rather than the
more formal status of forces agreement the two sides have been negotiating.
The memorandum "now on the table" includes a formula for the withdrawal of U.S.
troops, he said.
"The goal is to end the presence (of foreign troops)," al-Maliki said.
Some type of agreement is needed to keep U.S. troops in Iraq after a U.N.
mandate expires at year's end. But many Iraqi lawmakers had criticized the
government's attempt to negotiate a formal status of forces agreement, worried
that U.S. demands would threaten the country's sovereignty.
U.S. officials have said little publicly about the negotiations. Adm. Michael
Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, did not comment directly on the
specifics when asked about it on a trip to Baghdad.
"We'd all like to see U.S. troops get out of here at some point in time,"
Mullen said. "However, from a military perspective I need the laws and the
regulations and the agreements from the government of Iraq in order to continue
operations beyond the 31st of December of this year.."
With the latest moves, Iraq's government appeared to be trying to blunt
opposition in parliament to any deal.
Al-Maliki also could be trying to avoid parliament altogether. He has promised
in the past to submit a formal agreement with the U.S. to the legislative body.
But his spokesman indicated Monday that the government might feel no need to
get approval from parliament for a shorter-term interim deal.
"It is up to the Cabinet whether to approve it or sign on it, without going
back to the parliament," said spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh.
Legal experts said the form of the deal was less significant than its substance.
"You could theoretically include everything in a memorandum of understanding
that you could in a formal status of forces agreement," said Michael Matheson,
an expert on international law at George Washington University Law School.
The Bush administration has said it doesn't need congressional approval even
for a full status of forces agreement _ a position criticized by some U.S.
lawmakers.
The contentious issues have been U.S. authority to carry out military
operations in Iraq and arrest the country's citizens, along with legal immunity
for private contractors and control of Iraqi air space.
Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari said last week after a visit to
Washington that the U.S. had agreed to drop immunity for private contractors
and give up control of Iraqi air space if Iraq guaranteed it could protect the
country's skies.
But those concessions, never confirmed by the U.S. side, were apparently not
enough to cement a formal agreement, leading Iraq instead to pursue the
memorandum.
Iraq's government has felt increasingly confident in recent weeks about its
authority and the country's improved stability.
Violence in Iraq has fallen to its lowest level in four years. The change has
been driven by the 2007 buildup of American forces, the Sunni tribal revolt
against al-Qaida in Iraq and crackdowns against Shiite militias and Sunni
extremists.
Despite the gains, frequent attacks continue.
A roadside bomb killed four people and injured three others Monday close to the
Iranian border near Khanaqin, 90 miles northeast of Baghdad, said border guard
Capt. Sarchel Abdul-Karim.
Another bomb near a dress shop in Baqouba killed one woman Monday and wounded
14 other people, police said. Baqouba, 35 miles northeast of Baghdad, and the
surrounding Diyala province remain one of the country's most violent regions.
Also Monday, gunmen killed a member of the Sunni Iraqi Islamic Party in Tal
Afar, 260 miles northwest of Baghdad, said police, speaking on condition of
anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the media.
The Christian Life
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Comments on this article:
* "If they want our troops out, then it is time to go. Cut the apron
strings, as it were, and grant them their independence - we've claimed from the
start that it is our goal."
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