U.S. threatens to halt services to Iraq without troop accord

By Roy Gutman and Leila Fadel
McClatchy Newspapers

BAGHDAD _ The U.S. military has warned Iraq that it will shut down military operations and other vital services throughout the country on Jan. 1 if the Iraqi government doesn't agree to a new agreement on the status of U.S. forces or a renewed United Nations mandate for the American mission in Iraq.

Many Iraqi politicians view the move as akin to political blackmail, a top Iraqi official told McClatchy Sunday.

"It was really shocking for us," he said. "Many people are looking to this at ude as a matter of blackmailing."

http://www.mcclatchydc.com/homepage/story/54795.html

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"We're from the US govt and we're here to extort you"