Iraq's Prime Minister Won't Sign U.S. Troop Deal

Source: McClatchy Newspapers

Iraq's prime minister won't sign U.S. troop deal

By Roy Gutman | McClatchy Newspapers
BAGHDAD — Fearing political division in the parliament and in his country, Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki won't sign the just-completed agreement on the status of U.S. forces in Iraq, a leading lawmaker said Friday.

The new accord's demise would be a major setback for the Bush administration, which has been seeking to establish a legal basis for the extended presence of the 151,000 U.S. troops in this country, and for Iraq, which won notable concessions in the draft accord reached a week ago.

"No, he will not" submit the agreement to the parliament, Sheikh Jalal al Din al Sagheer, the deputy head of the Shiite Muslim Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq, told McClatchy. "For this matter, we need national consensus."

Instead, Sagheer said, Iraq's political leaders are considering seeking an extension of the United Nations mandate for the presence of U.S. troops, which will expire on Dec. 31. Russia, a permanent member of the U.N. Security Council, has assured Iraq that it wouldn't veto an extension, he said, adding that one was likely to last between six months and a year.

Read more: http://www.mcclatchydc.com/homepage/story/54757.html

:sarcasm:

I like the idea of using a UN extension for an early withdrawal date. It will probably take six months for the US to pull out anyway. Good bye Iraq, goodbye war, and goodbye neo-cons.

Anything Bush does here is illegal anyway. That's probably what Barack told them. A Bush agreement would not get a Senate vote, and thus would not be a legal treaty. Extend 6 months, Barack will come in and draft a real treaty with a real schedule for withdrawal.

Fuck Bush.

Because he'll have an easier time getting it signed than George did.

Don't they know that George W. Bush is the Greatest President of the 21st Century? And that for decades to come, scholars and others will be studying the realities created by the Bush administration as George goes on to fashion and call into being even more realities? Woe unto you, Iraq!

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In reality he's the ONLY president(of the USA) in the 21st century -

So he IS the Greatest,

but I guess he's also the worst?

I figure by the 22nd century he'll hang onto the distinction of being the WORST . . .

and not just for the 21st Century

but for the total history of the USA

Just my humble Canuk opinion

You mean that they don't appreciate how we have ruined Iraq for them, and we now expect them to help pay for that dubious "privilege"!

What are continuing egregious war crimes between "partners"? Didn't they like having Iraq bombed all the way back into the stone age?

Can anyone actually be surprised that they are no longer willing to go along with our "program"?

Our illegal, unsanctioned, occupation has been a complete failure from the start, in every way, so why aren't the Iraqi leaders happier?

I wonder...

I wonder why they would even consider it.

"We've decidecd to wait until your next President takes office to make any long term decisions"
Regards,
Iraq.

may still come to pass by 2011, 2012.

al Jazeera video concerning the eight month foot dragging aggreeement and why its still an undone deal


Is that the international "test" Biden spoke about ?

imo, its just one of many

Senior Iraqi politicians have warned that a crucial deal between Baghdad and Washington governing the presence of American troops in the country is doomed to failure after eight months of talks.

“The Sofa is dead in the water,” said one Iraqi politician close to the talks.

He added that Nouri al-Maliki, the prime minister, believed that signing it would be “political suicide”.

The collapse of the deal would severely undermine American policy. An agreement is needed to put America’s presence on a legal basis after the United Nations mandate for its 154,000 troops in Iraq expires on December 31.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/iraq/article5014584.ece

Is that anything like "That Chair won't hunt"?

or "A toilet in the hand is worth four in the grass"

thank god we fired all those gay arabic translators...