Iraq Wants A Withdrawal Timetable

It's been obvious for quite a while now that almost everyone would like for the United States to withdraw their troops from Iraq. Nearly 70% of the American people want it. An even larger percentage of the Iraqi people want it. And it goes without saying that the rest of the world would like to see it.

In fact, the only people who don't want U.S. troops to leave Iraq are members of the Bush administration and, of course, the puppet government Bush has installed in Iraq. Now, even that is changing.

The U.N. mandate that gives the United States some legal ground (although shaky) to be in Iraq will expire at the end of December. Bush doesn't want to have to go back to the United Nations, especially now that they know the Bush administration lied to them to get the original mandate. It's very unlikely Bush could get another one.

So instead, Bush has been trying to negotiate an agreement with the puppet government that would allow U.S. troops to stay in Iraq. Until now, the sticking point in the agreement has been Bush's demand that "contractors" in Iraq (such as Blackwater) receive full immunity for their actions. Last week, in an effort to get the agreement, Bush dropped the immunity demand.

But now the government of Nouri al-Maliki (pictured above) has come up with a demand of their own. They are asking for the United States government to set a timetable for withdrawal of all troops. It looks like al-Maliki is starting to think his government could survive without Bush's support (I think he's wrong).

This is a slap in the face for Bush (and McCain). Both had hopes of leaving permanent military bases in Iraq so they could control access to Iraqi oil. Now even the government they installed and have been protecting want the troops out.

Doesn't look like Sidney McCain will get those "100-year" military bases now. This can't be good for his presidential campaign either.

Bush/al-Maliki Agree To Long-Term Stay Of Troops

We've known for quite a while that Bush had no intention of removing our troops from Iraq before the end of his term. Now he is trying to force that same decision on the next president.

Yesterday, Bush and the Iraqi leader al-Maliki signed an agreement that would leave a substantial amount of U.S. troops in Iraq for many years. The Iraqi leader said at least 50,000 troops would be left in the country to protect his government and the constitution that created it, even after the fighting has subdued (if it ever does).

Both men know that the puppet government that Bush has installed in Iraq would not last a week after all the U.S. troops have been withdrawn. While both the Shiites and the Sunnis disagree on the government they want in Iraq, both sides would like to see the current puppet government gone. That may be the only thing they agree on.

But political reality has never been Bush's strong-suit. He is determined to force this government on the Iraqi citizens no matter how long he has to let American troops die there. It has nothing to do with Iraqi self-determination -- it's all about Bush's pride and his unwillingness to admit he made a mistake.

However, even a C-student like Bush can see that it's very likely that the next president is probably going to be a Democrat. I think that's a major reason he signed this new agreement. It is an attempt to force the new president to leave troops in Iraq and protect his puppet government.

It might even work with Clinton and Obama. Both have said they would leave some troops there. But if the new president is Richardson, Edwards, Kucinich or Dodd, then this new agreement was an exercise in futility. All four of them have pledged to remove ALL U.S. troops from Iraq.

I think Bush has forgotten the root cause of the 9/11 attacks (if he ever understood it at all). The terrorists have been quite frank in telling us that they attacked America because American troops are stationed in Saudi Arabia and other places in the Arabic world. Leaving troops in Iraq will not solve this problem -- it will only exacerbate the problem, and set us up for more attacks in the future.

This ridiculous new agreement makes it even more important that either Richardson, Edwards, Kucinich or Dodd be elected in 2008. They are the only candidates that really understand the situation in that part of the world.