"After more than eight years of war, many weary Iraqis are ready to see US troops go, and staunchly defend their national sovereignty against an American force they see as occupiers....
Doesn't look like indecision to me.
--more--"
Nevertheless (sigh):
"Iraqis fear power vacuum after US withdrawal; Pullout reveals deep ambivalence over occupation" September 11, 2011|By Michael S. Schmidt, New York Times
BAGHDAD - Sheik Kamal Maamouri, the leader of one of the largest Shi’ite-dominated tribes in Iraq, used to call the US troops here occupiers, demanding that they withdraw because he said they killed and imprisoned innocent members of his tribe.
But now he is not so sure he wants the Americans to go, at least not yet. Like many others across Iraq, he felt conflicted, and a bit frightened, after it was revealed last week that the United States may keep 3,000 to 4,000 troops in Iraq next year.
“The political changes that have occurred here and the security problems have led a lot of Iraqis, including me, to change our minds about the withdrawal of US forces,’’ Maamouri said. That was a view that few Shi’ites, empowered by the fall of Saddam Hussein’s Sunni government, would ever have spoken when it seemed the United States was never going to go.
The propaganda stream is running thick.
Pro-Israel Americans:Help keep Israel secure by ensuring U.S. support remains strong www.AIPAC.org
And that's who is paying for it.
“They bring a balance to Iraqi society,’’ he said.
Though Iraqis have called for Americans to leave from the start of the occupation in 2003, the prospect of such a drastic drawdown, from the 48,000 troops here now, has revealed another side of the Iraqi psyche.
Did I say I was sick of the elite insults?
This is a nation that distrusts itself, with little faith in the government’s own security forces or political leaders.
Judging by that last sentence they sound just like Americans.
It is as if people here never actually believed that the United States would leave, so all along demands for a pullout were never carefully weighed against the potential fallout.
I must admit, I never did -- and still don't.
This is not to say that Iraqis no longer want to be liberated from a foreign military, which of course they say they do. But Iraqis who once cheered the fall of a dictator recall all too vividly the chaos and bloodshed that came after Hussein’s iron rule was broken.
The politics of occupation have not changed. For months, US officials warned the Iraqis that if they did not issue a formal request to stay, and soon, it would become logistically impossible to slow the pullout. After months of stalling, the government agreed to open negotiations to leave some forces behind.
Then last week it was revealed that Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta is supporting a plan to keep as few as 3,000 soldiers in Iraq, enough to provide some training to Iraqi forces, and not much else. From the north to the center to the south, many Iraqis said they were shocked by such a small number and feared that the few Americans would become irresistible targets for violence, unable to safeguard themselves, let alone Iraq.
“If the Americans withdraw, there will be problems because there will be no great power in the country that everyone respects,’’ said Mateen Abdullah Karkukli, a 43-year-old Turkmen from Kirkuk.
But, reflecting his own mixed feelings, he said, “If they stay, there will be a bigger problem because insurgents and militias will have justification to resume their armed activities.’’
It is not altogether surprising that Kurds or Sunnis, minorities in the Shi’ite-majority nation, would be more apprehensive about an American withdrawal. Kurds worry that a strong Shi’ite-dominated government will upset the virtual autonomy they enjoy in the north. And Sunnis worry about violence from Shi’ite militias.
But there is also anxiety in unexpected places, like Babil, a Shi’ite-dominated city where residents have bitterly complained about midnight raids by American forces since 2003.
Yeah, stuff like that never gets much print though.
Those feelings have not diminished, but they have been overshadowed by concerns that the Iraqi government would not able to fill the vacuum the US forces would leave behind.
Who got us in there in the first place?
And that's who is paying for it.
“They bring a balance to Iraqi society,’’ he said.
Though Iraqis have called for Americans to leave from the start of the occupation in 2003, the prospect of such a drastic drawdown, from the 48,000 troops here now, has revealed another side of the Iraqi psyche.
Did I say I was sick of the elite insults?
This is a nation that distrusts itself, with little faith in the government’s own security forces or political leaders.
Judging by that last sentence they sound just like Americans.
It is as if people here never actually believed that the United States would leave, so all along demands for a pullout were never carefully weighed against the potential fallout.
I must admit, I never did -- and still don't.
This is not to say that Iraqis no longer want to be liberated from a foreign military, which of course they say they do. But Iraqis who once cheered the fall of a dictator recall all too vividly the chaos and bloodshed that came after Hussein’s iron rule was broken.
The politics of occupation have not changed. For months, US officials warned the Iraqis that if they did not issue a formal request to stay, and soon, it would become logistically impossible to slow the pullout. After months of stalling, the government agreed to open negotiations to leave some forces behind.
Then last week it was revealed that Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta is supporting a plan to keep as few as 3,000 soldiers in Iraq, enough to provide some training to Iraqi forces, and not much else. From the north to the center to the south, many Iraqis said they were shocked by such a small number and feared that the few Americans would become irresistible targets for violence, unable to safeguard themselves, let alone Iraq.
“If the Americans withdraw, there will be problems because there will be no great power in the country that everyone respects,’’ said Mateen Abdullah Karkukli, a 43-year-old Turkmen from Kirkuk.
But, reflecting his own mixed feelings, he said, “If they stay, there will be a bigger problem because insurgents and militias will have justification to resume their armed activities.’’
It is not altogether surprising that Kurds or Sunnis, minorities in the Shi’ite-majority nation, would be more apprehensive about an American withdrawal. Kurds worry that a strong Shi’ite-dominated government will upset the virtual autonomy they enjoy in the north. And Sunnis worry about violence from Shi’ite militias.
But there is also anxiety in unexpected places, like Babil, a Shi’ite-dominated city where residents have bitterly complained about midnight raids by American forces since 2003.
Yeah, stuff like that never gets much print though.
Those feelings have not diminished, but they have been overshadowed by concerns that the Iraqi government would not able to fill the vacuum the US forces would leave behind.
Who got us in there in the first place?
Pro-Israel Americans:Help keep Israel secure by ensuring U.S. support remains strong www.AIPAC.org
Oh, yeah, right.
“The leading parties now in the government tend to act like dictators,’’ said Maamouri, the tribal leader. “I am afraid if the Americans withdraw from Iraq, these parties will act even more like dictators. Three thousand troops will not be enough to deal with any of the threats facing Iraq.’’
Iraqis have little faith in their government preserving modest gains and in restoring stability because of bombings, assassinations and rocket attacks that are still carried out on a daily basis.
And yet we read so little about them in our AmeriKan newspapers.
And to a large extent they blame the United States for rupturing their society, and then planning to pull out before repairing the damage it caused.
Analysts here say the Iraqi security forces have concentrated so much energy on trying to stop violence within the country’s borders that they failed to guard against an external threat....
Gee, who could that be?
“The Iranians.’’
Oh, yeah, right.
“The leading parties now in the government tend to act like dictators,’’ said Maamouri, the tribal leader. “I am afraid if the Americans withdraw from Iraq, these parties will act even more like dictators. Three thousand troops will not be enough to deal with any of the threats facing Iraq.’’
Iraqis have little faith in their government preserving modest gains and in restoring stability because of bombings, assassinations and rocket attacks that are still carried out on a daily basis.
And yet we read so little about them in our AmeriKan newspapers.
And to a large extent they blame the United States for rupturing their society, and then planning to pull out before repairing the damage it caused.
Analysts here say the Iraqi security forces have concentrated so much energy on trying to stop violence within the country’s borders that they failed to guard against an external threat....
Gee, who could that be?
“The Iranians.’’
Ready for a World War?
--more--"
Also see: Occupation Iraq: Iran All In
Who are the terrorists again?
"More than 20 people killed in terrorist attacks in Iraq" September 15, 2011|By Yasir Ghazi, New York Times
BAGHDAD - Terrorist attacks across Iraq killed more than 20 people yesterday, including in Anbar Province, where an increase in violence has heightened sectarian tensions....
And CUI BONO?
In Babil Province, south of Baghdad, a parked car packed with explosives was detonated in front of a busy restaurant on the highway connecting the capital and Basra. The restaurant was crowded with travelers who had stopped for breakfast. The police said the blast had killed 13 people and wounded 46 more, including women and children.
Absolutely STINKING of an INTELLIGENCE AGENCY OPERATION!!
Later, the bodies of three Shi’ite men believed to have been laborers were found along a highway in Babil Province. The men’s hands had been tied, and they had been shot multiple times, the police said.
In Baghdad, gunmen killed two police officers at a security checkpoint and wounded a third.
Violence in Anbar Province has worsened in recent weeks as the United States has begun to withdraw....
No group claimed responsibility for the attacks yesterday, but US military officials said they appeared to have been the work of the insurgent group known as Al Qaeda in Mesopotamia.
Oh, I believe it was "Al-CIA-Duh!"
That group has tried to mount attacks on both Sunnis and Shi’ites, apparently in the hope that each will blame and attack the other, plunging Iraq back into civil war.
“I have seen a change over time with Al Qaeda in Iraq,’’ said Major General Jeffrey Buchanan, the US military’s spokesman in Iraq, in an interview at Umm Qasr, the port where the Iraqi military was celebrating Navy Day. “They seem to be attacking groups to get a sectarian conflict regenerated. But unlike years past, especially in the worst days of 2006 and 2007, the Iraqi people seem determined to deal with terrorists as terrorists, and not make it a sectarian conflict.’’
Then WE CAN LEAVE, right?
--more--"
"Sadr supporters call for aid in Iraq; Demands include services, jobs, and oil revenue" by Bushra Juhi, Associated Press / September 17, 2011
BAGHDAD - An anti-American cleric galvanized thousands of followers to rally yesterday for more jobs and government aid in demonstrations that showed his support among Shi’ites, who are vital supporters of Iraq’s political leaders.
Caskets carried through the streets of Sadr City in northeast Baghdad symbolized Iraq’s electricity outages, slim food rations, and unemployment.
It's called liberation and victory over here.
Police estimated that 25,000 protesters turned out in Sadr City, the political stronghold of cleric Moqtada al-Sadr.
Similar demonstrations took place in the southern cities of Basra and Najaf.
“We want services, jobs, and a portion of the oil revenue to be distributed to people. Immediately, immediately, immediately,’’ Sadrist official Ibrahim al-Jabiri told the Shi’ite crowds in Baghdad.
Iraqi and Shi’ite religious flags were hoisted in the air, and protesters held up broken lamps, fans, air coolers, heaters, and generators as a sign of their frustration over electricity outages that have plagued the country since the 2003 US-led invasion.
We didn't rebuild s***. So where did all that money go?
Sadr is in Iran, where he has been studying at religious schools. He is the fiercest opponent of the US military presence in Iraq. He has repeatedly demanded full withdrawal of US troops by the end of the year, as required under a 2008 security agreement between Baghdad and Washington.
Negotiations between the two countries are underway over the possibility that some US troops might remain after the deadline.
Though he has mostly lived in Iran for several years, his influence has grown since last fall, when he publicly endorsed Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki to remain in power, even though the Maliki’s party fell short of winning national elections. Most of Sadr’s followers are among the poorest Iraqis, and he has often hammered the government to produce more aid for them.
Aren't those the people we went to liberate?
At the Basra and Najaf rallies, hundreds of Sadrists also shouted anti-American slogans among their calls for better services.
“The people want the occupiers to leave,’’ they shouted. “The people want to reform the regime.’’
Not according to the New York Times.
Continued instability in Iraq’s government and security forces, combined with Iran’s growing influence in Baghdad, has led Maliki and President Obama to weigh whether to keep between 3,000 and 10,000 US troops in Iraq beyond the Dec. 31 deadline.
Is it not ONLY NATURAL that Shi'ite Iraq would draw closer to their immediate Shi'ite neighbor Iran?
Related: Memory Hole: The Dream Vacation
Oh, they vacation there?
In a letter released early yesterday, 41 experts, former lawmakers, and top officials in the administration of President George W. Bush called on Obama to keep far more than 4,000 troops in Iraq - a figure the White House is reportedly considering. The letter released by the Foreign Policy Initiative, a conservative-leaning group in Washington....
Among the letter’s mostly Republican signers were L. Paul Bremer, who ran the US occupation of Iraq until June 2004 and was then involved in a long and destabilizing struggle to elect a government and write a constitution, and Bush political adviser Karl Rove.
--more--"
Yeah, let's stay:
"The US military said an American soldier died yesterday in a nonhostile incident in northern part of the country. No name or other details were immediately available.
The death brings to 4,476 the number of US troops who have died supporting military operations in Iraq since the 2003 invasion, according to an Associated Press count....
--more--"
"4 bombs target Shi’ite holy city in Iraq" September 26, 2011|Associated Press
BAGHDAD - Bomb blasts ripped through Karbala yesterday, one of the holiest cities in Shi’ite Islam, killing at least 10 people in a community still reeling from a deadly bus hijacking earlier this month that left 22 dead and Iraq’s Shi’ites again feeling hunted....
By who?
“Once again, the terrorist enemies of both Iraq and humanity have committed a new crime against the innocent people of Karbala,’’ said Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, a Shi’ite.
He called the bombings a “heinous crime,’’ promised that those behind them and the earlier attack on the bus would be punished, and warned people not to be drawn back into sectarian revenge killings.
Violence in Iraq has fallen dramatically since the bloodletting of 2006 and 2007, but militant attacks still appear aimed at reigniting the nation’s volatile ethnic and religious divide.
The Sept. 12 bus attack targeted Shi’ite pilgrims from Karbala who were headed to a shrine in neighboring Syria.
Maliki has been trying to reduce tensions between officials in Karbala and Anbar since the hijacking. Four suspects are being held in the case, and Maliki’s military advisers say at least some foreigners were involved.
Oh, I believe that.
Yesterday’s bombings in Karbala were meant to raise those tensions further, officials said....
--more--"
"Car explosion in Iraq kills 17 attending Shi’ite sheik’s funeral" by Lara Jakes and Qassim Abdul-Zahra Associated Press / October 1, 2011
BAGHDAD - A car bomb exploded yesterday near a Shi’ite mosque south of Baghdad where mourners had gathered for a funeral, killing 17 people, Iraqi officials said.
I don't believe any Muslim would do that, even the most pious "Al-CIA-Duh."
The explosion triggered new anger at Iraq’s leaders and their armed forces, who will soon take over responsibility for the country’s security as US troops rapidly leave the country. Violence has dropped since the height of Iraq’s bloodshed a few years ago, but Iraqi forces have failed to stop attacks that continue to claim lives daily....
So if you want us to stay you better ask quick!
There was no immediate claim of responsibility, but Sunni militants such as Al Qaeda often target Shi’ite mosques and neighborhoods to stir sectarian violence.
A hallmark of intelligence agency false flags.
Last evening’s blast happened not far from where another strike killed 15 people and wounded 41 last month, police and hospital officials said.
In that Sept. 14 attack, a car bomb parked outside a restaurant in the village of al-Shumali exploded as police were eating breakfast inside.
The attacks come at a precarious time for Iraq, torn between wanting to assert its sovereignty without the help of US forces while also recognizing that its own soldiers and police are not ready to stop militants on their own.
Iraqi leaders are grappling with whether they will formally ask the Obama administration to keep a few thousand US troops in Iraq beyond the military’s Dec. 31 withdrawal deadline.
Talks among the leaders of Iraq’s top political groups are expected to ramp up next week. But Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has signaled that the final decision will be left to Parliament, where most lawmakers have been reluctant to embrace a continued US troop presence that is unpopular with many voters.
There are currently about 44,000 US troops in Iraq. There are also about 7,000 private security contractors hired by the US Embassy in Baghdad to protect American government offices and residential buildings in Iraq.
--more--"
"Donning disguises, Iraqi gunmen seize station in standoff" by Associated Press / October 4, 2011
BAGHDAD - Gunmen disguised as police officers seized control of a police station in western Iraq yesterday morning, killing four people and taking dozens of hostages before Iraqi forces swept in and ended the standoff, Iraqi officials said.
The three-hour hostage crisis demonstrated the vulnerability of the Iraqi security forces as American troops swiftly draw down their presence after more than eight years of war....
Then we have lost the war, haven't we?
“Some of the terrorists entered my office and one of them picked up my landline phone when it was ringing and said: ‘We are the fighters of the Islamic State of Iraq,’ ’’ said the mayor, Muhanad Zbar Mutlaq.
The Islamic State of Iraq is a front group for Al Qaeda.
Yeah, it's a CIA FRONT!
Two of the insurgents blew themselves up when Iraqi police stormed the station to free the estimated 40 people held inside, said Brigadier General Mohammed al-Fahdawi of the Iraqi army’s Seventh Division in Anbar province. Security forces killed the other two assailants, he said.
--more-"
"String of blasts kills 10 in Baghdad" October 11, 2011|Associated Press
BAGHDAD - A string of explosions targeting security officials and people who rushed to the scene to help the injured killed at least 10 people in western Baghdad last night, officials said.
The first explosion came from a roadside bomb in a Shi’ite neighborhood, targeting an Iraqi army patrol, a police official said. Minutes later, a second bomb exploded nearby, targeting a passing police patrol.
As firefighters arrived on the scene of the first blast, the third bomb went off.
Officials said 19 people were wounded in the attacks. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.
Violence is nowhere near the peaks seen in 2006 and 2007, but bombings and shootings still occur with regularity.
As US forces prepare to go home by the end of this year, security will rest in the hands of the Iraqi security forces. Some US and Iraqi officials would like to see American forces stay in Iraq into next year to help maintain the fragile stability and train Iraqi troops.
Disagreements over whether to grant the Americans the type of legal protections they are demanding have threatened to derail any plans to have American troops in Iraq past their Dec. 31 departure date.
In another incident, six members of a land mine removal team died when a controlled detonation of old land mines went wrong, a police official said. The accident happened near the city of Basra, 340 miles southeast of Baghdad, on Saturday.
--more--"
"5 blasts across Bagdad kill 22" October 13, 2011|By Asaad Majeed and Dan Zak, Washington Post
BAGHDAD - Five explosions targeting local police shook the capital within an hour yesterday morning, two days after Iraq’s leaders requested that at least 5,000 US military trainers remain into 2012 to advise the country’s fledgling security forces....
Local police, whose capability and readiness have been questioned by US and Iraqi officials, are constant targets for insurgents aiming to destabilize Iraq as the American military rapidly withdraws its forces.
In a meeting with Iraqi journalists Monday, President Jalal Talabani said Iraq’s political blocs have agreed that 5,000 or more US military trainers are required to assist the country’s local and national security forces. Iraq will not, however, grant immunity from prosecution to military trainers who stay past the Dec. 31 expiration of the countries’ security agreements.
“The American side has been approached, and we are waiting for an official response,’’ Talabani said, according to the government-funded newspaper Assabah.
Both the US military and the American Embassy declined yesterday day to comment on the number, though it is within the upper range of figures discussed in the past.
The radical Shi’ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, who has steadfastly opposed any American presence in Iraq, shifted his stance following Talabani’s announcement, indicating that he would support “indirect’’ training by the United States because it would mean fewer expenses and better weapons for Iraq. But such training, he said through a spokesman in Najaf, can take place only after the United States reimburses Iraq for damage caused during and after the 2003 invasion.
The United States and Iraq agree on the need for continued military training, though Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said last week that any remaining troops must have immunity.
We insist our troops can kill anyone, anytime, anywhere. Some liberation?
Wasn't that one of the propaganda reasons for invading the place?
Since then, officials in Washington and Baghdad have rushed to outline training proposals that would enlist private security contractors, NATO or some other entity that could be legally covered despite the denial of military immunity....
Car bombs, assassinations, and collateral civilian deaths continue to be a daily occurrence in Iraq....
And they called it victory!
--more--"
Also see: Gunmen assassinate Iraqi finance official
Bomb kills 4 Iraqi militia members
US has 1st combat death in Iraq since July
Wasn't combat declared officially over over a year ago?
One thing they did decide on:
"Iraq to pay $3b for 18 fighter jets from US" September 28, 2011|Associated Press
BAGHDAD - Iraq has signed an estimated $3 billion deal to buy 18 fighter jets from the United States, officials said yesterday, in a measure aimed at protecting its air space alone, after years of relying on help from American pilots.
The F-16s aren’t expected to arrive in Iraq until next fall at the earliest, and probably not until 2013, meaning US troops may still be asked to patrol the country’s skies and train its air force for months, if not years, to come.
Actually, I don't think so.
But US Army Lieutenant General Michael Ferriter called the F-16 deal “a game-changing capability.’’
“It provides the basis for their air sovereignty,’’ Ferriter told reporters in his Baghdad office.
There are 44,000 US troops in Iraq, with all scheduled to leave by the end of this year. But concerns about Iraq’s stability and continued attacks have spurred Washington and Baghdad to reconsider the deadline in a drawn-out political process that may not be decided until the 11th hour.
Underscoring Iraq’s security gaps, a militant group linked to Al Qaeda issued a list of attacks yesterday that it claimed it carried out in Iraq during the holy Islamic holy month of Ramadan. The Islamic State of Iraq said in the statement that it carried out 68 attacks in the country’s western Sunni-dominated Anbar Province in August and September, killing at least 90 people. The claims could not be immediately verified.
Officials in Baghdad and Washington worry that the US military withdrawal will leave behind partially trained Iraqi security forces unable to protect the country from foreign threats, especially during the rash of instability across the Mideast.
Iraq has said its air force is not ready to protect its air space alone.
Who would they have to protect it from? Israel?
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