Troops out of Iraq by year's end!?

[JoeChalupa]

Obama about to speak about Having Troops out of Iraq by the end of the year. What say you?
Let the bashing begin by McCain and others.

[CosmicCowboy]

Fine with me. Iran's gonna end up running it after we leave no matter how long we stay anyway. Might as well get out now.

[Drachen]

bingo

[boutons_deux]

Iraq is gonna blow up, remain corrupted, remain tribally, ethnically, sectarianally divided for centuries. Get out now and not stay for McLiar's "100 years". Like VN, UCA invading Iraq for oil was a total failure for American security, but a huge success for the MIC and US/UK oil company instigators.

[Viva Las Espuelas]

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51nSK2jhS5L._SL500_.jpg

[boutons_deux]

Barry says no deal with Iraqis to give US troops immunity from war crimes, so the troops are coming out by 31 Dec.

Obama: U.S. will pull troops out of Iraq by year-end

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/10/21/us-iraq-usa-obama-idUSTRE79K4LR20111021?feedType=RSS&feedName=politicsNews&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Reuters%2FPoliticsNews+%28New s+%2F+US+%2F+Politics+News%29

[lefty]

So, Obama and Co have taken everything they needed I guess

No need for Iraq anymore

[Winehole23]

Transferred from DoD to State. We're not out of Iraq by a long shot.

[LnGrrrR]

Transferred from DoD to State. We're not out of Iraq by a long shot.

It does seem like we have a greatly reduced presence coming though. That's just anecodtal on my end though; most deployments are to a 'Stan now, which is a big change from even a year ago.

[boutons_deux]

dubya's $1B green zone boogdoggle imperial embassy, disfiguring the middle of BadGag, will probably cost State $1B/year forever, with $100Ms going to murderous mercenaries.

I expect the Iraq govt to shakedown the US/UK oilcos more and more over the years, with US taxpayers $$ providing much grease to Iraqi hands to keep the US/UK oilcos in business.

[4>0rings]

So, Obama and Co have taken everything they needed I guess

No need for Iraq anymore
What exactly did Obama and co take from Iraq that they don't need anymore?

[Winehole23]

It does seem like we have a greatly reduced presence coming though. That's just anecodtal on my end though; most deployments are to a 'Stan now, which is a big change from even a year ago.It's a big change for sure, it just doesn't mean what people are suggesting it means. We will not be free and clear of Iraq's downstream wreckage for quite some time, and the conceit that we will shortly be out of Iraq, though technically true, is practically misleading. Have you seen the pix of the US embassy (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/09/16/us-embassy-iraq-state-department-plan_n_965945.html) there?

[CosmicCowboy]

It's a big change for sure, it just doesn't mean what people are suggesting it means. We will not be free and clear of Iraq's downstream wreckage for quite some time, and the conceit that we will shortly be out of Iraq, though technically true, is practically misleading. Have you seen the pix of the US embassy (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/09/16/us-embassy-iraq-state-department-plan_n_965945.html) there?

:wow:wow:wow:wow:wow:wow:wow:wow:wow:wow:wow

[boutons_deux]

"the State Department's plan is absolutely necessary to achieve key goals when it comes to diplomacy, economics, energy, security and rule of law."

so the US embassy mercenaries will be policing and enforcing the rule law outside of the embassy (and esp around the US/UK oil/gas facilities)? Thanks for the clarification.

iow, US taxpayers can't fund butter (teachers and fire/policemen, bridges, roads, education) while spending $100Bs on guns (occupy Iraq-for-oil for decades).

America is fucking insane (but sanity reigns for the MIC and UCA).

[hater]

what about the 3 billion dollar US mini-city green zone? will it become an amusement park?

[boutons_deux]

the embassy is in the green zone, right?


http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/iraq/images/spot_baghdad__27aug02_zones.jpg

http://maps.google.com/maps?q=baghdad+us+embassy+maps&hl=en&ll=33.299615,44.390001&spn=0.054521,0.111494&client=firefox-a&fb=1&gl=us&hq=us+embassy&hnear=0x15577f67a0a74193:0x9deda9d2a3b16f2c,Baghda d,+Iraq&cid=0,0,15568453820445486980&t=h&z=14&vpsrc=6&iwloc=A

[Winehole23]

Yes.

[Winehole23]

what about the 3 billion dollar US mini-city green zone? will it become an amusement park?Answered in the linked material...it will become home to 16,000 State Dept personnel and contractors.

[Wild Cobra]

Well, I hope he gets them out. If not, he puts the US in violation of the SOFA agreement president Bush signed.

[FuzzyLumpkins]

I have seen some of the security reports from Iraq and they have taken over the preponderance of the policing as it is. That we had to go in there and play cop for a decade was fucking stupid. Its like one of WC's posts.

[DarrinS]

I have seen some of the security reports from Iraq and they have taken over the preponderance of the policing as it is. That we had to go in there and play cop for a decade was fucking stupid. Its like one of WC's posts.

Man, you're like an expert on every subject.

[FuzzyLumpkins]

Man, you're like an expert on every subject.

Hardly. i just have seent he reports and thats what they claim. There is a guy named Ralph Peters that talks about this subject and the strategic implications of the shift in the role our military has had to take and I am familiar with his takes but that is about the extent of it.

I don't watch TV except for sports so i end up reading constantly. It helps to educate oneself. You should know that as an engineer.

[boutons_deux]

who knew the GOPhers, rodents every one of them, would object, as if programmed message central?

GOPers Hit Obama for Iraq Withdrawal

Nonetheless, the end of US military operations in Iraq—100,000 troops have already left the country, and the final 39,000 will be gone by late December—is already being spun by some Republican critics as an admission of defeat, part of a larger attempt to paint Obama and his party as soft on national security.

Obama had shown "weakness" in making "a political decision and not a military one."

Mitt Romney's campaign sent out an email statement with a near-identical sentiment.

The status of forces agreement between the US and Iraq that requires American troops to leave this year—the deal that Bachmann and Romney are railing against—was negotiated in 2008 by George W. Bush.

http://motherjones.com/mojo/2011/10/gopers-hit-obama-iraq-withdrawal

===

No worries, the "message" will be all over Fox Repug Propaganda network tonight and for months to come.

[LnGrrrR]

Republican warmongers do know that the military is run by civilians, right?

[FuzzyLumpkins]

Republican warmongers do know that the military is run by civilians, right?

Thats a good point. How many get to come home?

[ChumpDumper]

Hardly. i just have seent he reports and thats what they claim. There is a guy named Ralph Peters that talks about this subject and the strategic implications of the shift in the role our military has had to take and I am familiar with his takes but that is about the extent of it.

I don't watch TV except for sports so i end up reading constantly. It helps to educate oneself. You should know that as an engineer.What do you know about spotty dishes?

[velik_m]

http://img718.imageshack.us/img718/4084/e901619124c2411380500fc.jpg (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/718/e901619124c2411380500fc.jpg/)

[Oh, Gee!!]

Iraq will be our 58th state

[George Gervin's Afro]

we can't afford it..how do we pay for it?

[boutons_deux]

How do we pay for the guns? We cut the butter.

We cut Medicare/Medicaid (not the cost of health care), fire 100Ks teachers and police, let the country's infrastructure rot, default on T-bonds sold to SS. That's the Repug solution.


Despite Difficult Talks, U.S. and Iraq Had Expected Some American Troops to Stay

But officials also held out hope that after the withdrawal, the two countries could restart negotiations more productively, as two sovereign nations.

This year, American military officials had said they wanted a “residual” force of as many as tens of thousands of American troops to remain in Iraq past 2011 as an insurance policy against any violence. Those numbers were scaled back, but the expectation was that at least about 3,000 to 5,000 American troops would remain.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/22/world/middleeast/united-states-and-iraq-had-not-expected-troops-would-have-to-leave.html?_r=1&partner=rss&emc=rss

troop levels since 2002 invasion-for-oil:

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2011/10/21/world/asia/american-forces-in-iraq-and-afghanistan.html?ref=middleeast

[mavs>spurs]

Only because they are gearing up for something bigger.

[clambake]

http://img718.imageshack.us/img718/4084/e901619124c2411380500fc.jpg (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/718/e901619124c2411380500fc.jpg/)

:lol thats a riot!

[boutons_deux]

Neo-cons pimping the wealth-sucking MIC relentlessly:

John Bolton disagrees with Iraq withdrawal: ‘We’re still in Germany, Japan’

In his disgust with President Barack Obama removing troops with Iraq, former U.S. ambassador to the UN John Bolton viewed the move as the U.S. “giving up.”

Appearing on Fox News’ (SURPRISE!!) On the Record Friday evening, Bolton wanted the United States to apply what they did after World War II in regards to Iraq instead of Obama following through on a campaign promise and the Bush administration’s agreement for the U.S. to withdraw.

“I think this is a mistake,” he said. “We have lost influence over the government of Iraq. If we had pulled out of Germany 9 years after World War II, that would have been 1954, not the most optimal time in light of Cold War circumstances.”

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2011/10/22/john-bolton-disagrees-with-iraq-withdrawal-were-still-in-germany-japan/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+TheRawStory+%28The+Raw+Story% 29

[CosmicCowboy]

Xe Services (the old Blackwater) is gonna make out like a bandit in Iraq.

[ChuckD]

John Bolton was the most embarrassing UN ambassador we've had since Jeane Kirkpatrick.

[Axe Murderer]

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_olsFfdGggLA/SxUt0sVu-AI/AAAAAAAAAfc/UIb8RFiAUpU/s1600/Stoops+Lays+Eggs.jpg
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http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_olsFfdGggLA/SxUt0sVu-AI/AAAAAAAAAfc/UIb8RFiAUpU/s1600/Stoops+Lays+Eggs.jpg

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http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_olsFfdGggLA/SxUt0sVu-AI/AAAAAAAAAfc/UIb8RFiAUpU/s1600/Stoops+Lays+Eggs.jpg

[boutons_deux]

Afghan President Hamid Karzai Says Afghanistan Would Side With Pakistan In US-Pakistan War

“God forbid, If ever there is a war between Pakistan and America, Afghanistan will side with Pakistan,” said Karzai. “If Pakistan is attacked and if the people of Pakistan needs Afghanistan’s help, Afghanistan will be there with you.”

http://thinkprogress.org/security/2011/10/23/351007/karzai-pakistan-us-war/

As many predicted, the Repugs' botched war in Afghanistan is proving to be completely futile waste of lives and $Ts.

That dreamed-of gas pipeline from the fields east of the Caspian sea across Afghanistan will probably have no US/UK participation (going Russia, China, Europe).

[Wild Cobra]

LOL...

Who's stirring up that nonsense?

[boutons_deux]

Ha! We just knew there'd be a huge peace dividend!

U.S. Planning Troop Buildup in Gulf After Exit From Iraq

The Obama administration plans to bolster the American military presence in the Persian Gulf after it withdraws the remaining troops from Iraq this year, according to officials and diplomats. That repositioning could include new combat forces in Kuwait able to respond to a collapse of security in Iraq or a military confrontation with Iran.

The plans, under discussion for months, gained new urgency after President Obama’s announcement this month that the last American soldiers would be brought home from Iraq by the end of December. Ending the eight-year war was a central pledge of his presidential campaign, but American military officers and diplomats, as well as officials of several countries in the region, worry that the withdrawal could leave instability or worse in its wake.

After unsuccessfully pressing both the Obama administration and the Iraqi government to permit as many as 20,000 American troops to remain in Iraq beyond 2011, the Pentagon is now drawing up an alternative.

In addition to negotiations over maintaining a ground combat presence in Kuwait, the United States is considering sending more naval warships through international waters in the region.

With an eye on the threat of a belligerent Iran, the administration is also seeking to expand military ties with the six nations in the Gulf Cooperation Council — Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Oman. While the United States has close bilateral military relationships with each, the administration and the military are trying to foster a new “security architecture” for the Persian Gulf that would integrate air and naval patrols and missile defense.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/30/world/middleeast/united-states-plans-post-iraq-troop-increase-in-persian-gulf.html?partner=rss&emc=rss

============

As long as there is oil in the ground, the US troops will garrison (deface) the Middle East.

[fraga]

It's really sad that all these fucknuts on the Right who are coming out against Obama for pulling all our troops out of Iraq by December quickly forget that it was infact Bush who set this date...

[boutons_deux]

"quickly forget"

they didn't forget, they know about the SOFA.

They do expect their base, Fox viewers, assholes, tea baggers, ignorant bubbas to forget (if they every knew about SOFA).

Saying Obama lost (dubya's bogus, botched) war is red meat for their rabid base.

[boutons_deux]

75 Percent Of Americans Support Obama On Iraq Troop Withdrawal

http://thinkprogress.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/gallup-iraq.jpg

http://thinkprogress.org/security/2011/11/03/360271/75-percent-support-obama-iraq/

======

Repugs, tea baggers, MIC-suckers, etc AGAIN in the minority.

[Winehole23]

too bad Obama doesn't support the Americans who support withdrawal, five years after the putative withdrawal


The recent death (https://news.vice.com/article/one-us-marine-killed-others-wounded-during-islamic-state-rocket-attack-in-iraq) of a Marine in Iraq exposed the fact the United States set up a firebase (http://www.cnn.com/2016/03/20/politics/us-firebase-iraq-isis/) there, which in turn exposed the fact the Pentagon misrepresented (http://thehill.com/policy/defense/273892-pentagon-chief-acknowledges-troop-count-in-iraq-doesnt-include-all-forces) the number of American personnel in Iraq by as many as 2,000. It appears a second firebase (http://www.middleeasteye.net/news/us-establishes-independent-base-iraqs-anbar-fight-666537214) exists, set up on the grounds of one of America’s largest installations in the last Iraq war. Special operations forces range across the landscape. The Pentagon is planning for even more (https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/military-officials-pushing-for-increase-in-us-troops-in-iraq/2016/03/26/2fe04ea0-f321-11e5-a2a3-d4e9697917d1_story.html) troops. There can be no more wordplay: America now has boots on the ground in Iraq.

http://blogs.reuters.com/great-debate/2016/04/07/world-war-three-may-have-already-begun-in-iraq-and-syria/

[boutons_deux]

It was Obama who got trashed by Repugs for implementing the Repug Iraqi withdrawal agreement.

Do you think he's relishing the MIC sending US troops into combat?

In every case, "Americans who support withdrawal" are ignored, disenfranchised when it comes to US govt policy, laws, regs.

[xrayzebra]

Latest quote from Obama from the golf course: "you mean we have troops in Iraq? I didn't know that!" "When did Bush send them and how"

[CosmicCowboy]

Latest quote from Obama from the golf course: "you mean we have troops in Iraq? I didn't know that!" "When did Bush send them and how"

Nope...it was "We found out about it in the news just like everyone else..."

[Winehole23]

Stars and Stripes is reporting (http://www.bintjbeil.com/E/occupation/arab_jew.html) that the number of US troops in Iraq has risen from 4,000 to 4,460 in preparation for the Iraqi government campaign against Mosul.


The WSJ reported that the government of Iraqi prime minister Haydar al-Abadi wants to begin the campaign in October.

http://www.juancole.com/2016/09/nearly-troops-attack.html

[Winehole23]

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-mideast-crisis-iraq-fighting-idUSKBN1370DY

[Winehole23]

wimpy!


http://www.mcclatchydc.com/news/nation-world/national/article124842824.html

[boutons_deux]

US Special Operations Forces Deploy to 138 Nations, 70 Percent of the World's Countries

They could be found on the outskirts of Sirte, Libya (https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/checkpoint/wp/2016/08/09/u-s-special-operations-forces-are-providing-direct-on-the-ground-support-for-the-first-time-in-libya/?hpid=hp_rhp-top-table-main_uslibya-250pm%3Ahomepage%2Fstory), supporting local militia fighters, and in Mukalla, Yemen (https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/checkpoint/wp/2016/06/17/u-s-special-operations-forces-shift-to-long-term-mission-in-yemen/), backing troops from the United Arab Emirates.

http://www.tomdispatch.com/images/managed/sofmap1_small.jpg

At Saakow, a remote outpost in southern Somalia (http://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/17/world/africa/somalia-shabab.html), they assisted local commandos in killing several members of the terror group al-Shabab.

Around the cities of Jarabulus and Al-Rai in northern Syria (https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/checkpoint/wp/2016/09/16/u-s-special-operations-forces-begin-new-role-alongside-turkish-troops-in-syria/), they partnered with both Turkish soldiers and Syrian militias, while also embedding with Kurdish YPG fighters and the Syrian Democratic Forces.

Across the border in Iraq (http://www.militarytimes.com/articles/iraqi-special-operations-forces-join-mosul-offensive-against-isis), still others joined the fight to liberate the city of Mosul. And in Afghanistan (http://www.wsj.com/articles/u-s-military-special-operations-member-killed-in-afghanistan-1475610292), they assisted indigenous forces in various missions, just as they have every year since 2001.

For America, 2016 may have been the year of the commando (http://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/31/opinion/sunday/welcome-to-the-age-of-the-commando.html).

In one conflict zone after another across the northern tier of Africa and the Greater Middle East, US Special Operations forces (SOF) waged their particular brand of low-profile warfare.

http://www.truth-out.org/news/item/38993-the-year-of-the-commando-us-special-operations-forces-deploy-to-138-nations-70-percent-of-the-world-s-countries

Blowing $Bs on unwinnable GWOT.

Thanks, dubya and dickhead, Repugs, PNAC!

Y'all have kept American taxpayer $Bs redistributed upward into the MIC by invading Iraq for BigOil.