Pentagon Rebuffs Iraqis on Withdrawal Timetable(Iraq does not belong to the Iraqis)

[tekisui]

WASHINGTON (AFP) — In a rebuff to Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, the Pentagon said Monday that any timetable for a US withdrawal from Iraq would depend on conditions on the ground there.

Maliki told Arab ambassadors on Monday he was pressing for such a timetable in negotiations with Washington on an agreement on the status of US forces in Iraq beyond 2008.

Asked about the prime minister's comments, Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman told reporters: "With respect to timetables I would say the same thing I would say as respects to the security situation -- it is dependent on conditions on the ground."

Whitman said the United States had made clear "that we have no long term desires to have forces permanently stationed in Iraq."

"But timelines tend to be artificial in nature," he said. "In a situation where things are as dynamic as they are in Iraq, I would just tell you, it's usually best to look at these things based on conditions on the ground."

Maliki's comments to Arab ambassadors to the United Arab Emirates marked the first time he has specifically demanded a timetable for a US withdrawal.

"The direction we are taking is to have a memorandum of understanding either for the departure of the forces or to have a timetable for their withdrawal," a statement from Maliki's office quoted him as saying.

"The negotiations are still continuing with the American side, but in any case the basis for the agreement will be respect for the sovereignty of Iraq," he added.

A UN mandate that provides the legal basis for the US military presence in Iraq expires at end of the year, and the two countries are negotiating a bilateral agreement to replace it.

The two sides have agreed in principle to sign a Status of Forces Agreement by July.

But both Shiite and Sunni politicians have raised objections, and Democrats in the US Congress have expressed fears it would tie the hands of the next president.

link: http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5igSiA7iUJ8sGnwX9v0uYpJryNgQw

[tekisui]

1. It looks like this War wasn's for Democracy in the region, afterall.

Or WMDs, or Saddam, or terrorism. Not that it comes as a shock.

Big Oil is in, Our troops are there to protect and defend the oil flow and the money flow.

[pleah]

2. K&R Haven't the Iraqis been telling us to get out for about 3 years now?

:grr:

[tekisui]

3. Kick

This is THE news story of the day. The Pentagon just said fuck yoU! to Maliki and the Iraqi People and the "Iraqi Democracy".

[mdmc]

4. This is all about us, not them

We invaded to protect our interests, not to be puppets for the Iraqis.

[tekisui]

6. If by "our interests" you mean oil companies and multi-national

corporations that have made billions in this grand practice of war profiteering, I agree.

We should not be puppets for the Iraqis nor corporate interests. And, they have every right to tell us to get the hell out.

[DailyGrind51]

5. Did any of us ever believe that Bush was interested in Iraqi sovereignty?

It was ALWAYS about establishing permanent bases to protect our "petrocracy".