print“Washington has acceded to Baghdad’s wish and tentatively agreed to pull all of its combat troops out of Iraq by the end of 2011,” Time reported.
The New York Times seconded: “The United States has agreed to remove combat troops from Iraqi cities by next June and from the rest of the country by the end of 2011 if conditions in Iraq remain relatively stable, according to Iraqi and American officials involved in negotiating a security accord governing American forces there.”
This is one important story that has disappeared from the headlines ever since Barack and Biden made their announcement. (Unimportant by comparison, mainstream media have also forced the John Edwards scoop to fade.)
With this agreement, the Bush administration might just have taken the wind out of the war as an issue for Barack Obama. As it is, Obama had grown weaker on that front, his position increasingly converging with McCain’s. But if Bush finalizes the withdrawal, he will have taken the issue and the decision away from Obama. Strategically, it’s a smart move.
Update (August 24): And what does an agree-upon withdrawal from Iraq, sealed by Bush and Nuri Kamal al-Maliki, say about McCain’s position on the war! This makes the GOP’s Manchurian Candidate look especially lame.
Update II (August 26): The plot thickens. Maliki vouches the US has agreed to withdraw from Iraq; the Bushies say, “Not so fast.”
McClatchy Newspapers report:
“There is an agreement actually reached, reached between the two parties on a fixed date, which is the end of 2011, to end any foreign presence on Iraqi soil,” Maliki said.
But the White House disputed Maliki’s statement and made clear the two countries are still at odds over the terms of a U.S. withdrawal.
“Any decisions on troops will be based on conditions on the ground in Iraq,” White House spokesman Tony Fratto said in Crawford, Tex., where President Bush is vacationing. “That has always been our position. It continues to be our position.”
Which is it? And who’s the boss in Iraq?
1. I hope you are feeling better.
2. Even if the US has the sense to leave MESS-opotamia / Iraq, Warmonger / Global-Liberator McCain will send Americans into the Caucasus Mountains to take sides in a 1500 year struggle between the Alans and Georgians! He’s not willing to let Vlad have all the fun with Caucasian Improvised Explosive Devices.
3. As for Obama, he is truly a wuss on opposing moronic and unconstitutional wars unlike a man of principles like Ron Paul. No he’s not the evil Islamic Black Panther fanatic, either – just a calculating Chicago political hack. Here is a fascinating article how our Messiah got his start in the Illinois State Senate:
online.wsj.com/public/article_print/SB121918996082755013.html
– and it is quite well known how several Democrats and Republicans had to commit political suicide to enable him to win his US Senate seat in 2004. Perhaps he really is The Anointed One – and then, perhaps he is a clever opportunist with a golden tongue.
4. If McCain chooses Romney – EACH national ticket will have descendents of polygamists. I am hoping for Lieberman – a gift to 3rd parties as McCain reveals himself to be a warmongering empty vessel.