Calling our bluff. I love it.
Wait for the howls and screams from the Congress to ensue, and for John Bolton to go on overdrive to sabotage any intervention by the U.N.
This is what a sovereign nation sounds like, Senators. I welcome it. But then, I also firmly support Kerry and Feingold and their principled allies in the Senate who are trying to get our troops OUT and home as soon as possible.
Posted by LandAndSea at June 22, 2006 11:37 PMI've had it in my mind for a couple weeks that with Bush saying 'not withdrawal on my watch' and the Dems unable to fashion a response, that the ONLY way we will get out of Iraq is if the Iragi government INSISTS on withdrawal - the UN backing this plan is only a cherry on the sundae.
Will this happen? I doubt the government will really Bush to get out, and I doubt the resistance will accept any offer. I even more doubt that Bush would respect and obey a hypothetical request to depart - he'd say that the resistance isn't abiding by the agreement and therefore we must stay. Or whatever.
We are there for reasons not yet known (control of oil, a military base in the middle of the action, Bush's ego?), so it is hard to see why Bush would agree to withdraw. Without Iraq, how can he defend his party and the illegal activities his administration has no intention of quitting.
But still, I'm praying to the political gods that Iraq tells us to get out, on a short fuse, and with their threats of force to leave if necessary. Leaving isn't just save US military lives, and the lives of Iraqis. Leaving may be the only way to save our republic from totaltarian rule by BushCo and those Repubs who follow.
Posted by JimPortlandOR at June 23, 2006 12:50 AMHmmm. I put nothing past this administration. Could be the Bushies' plan: declare that Iraqis are now "standing up" and put on a big show of withdrawing a lot of troops just before a US election. Then make excuses for hanging on to the military bases. I think this is their real definition of victory, an Iraqi government dependent on the US and a power base in the Arab world. They don't give a damn about democracy in Iraq and may actually prefer that Iraq be in shambles as long as order can be maintained just enough for the US to stay in control of the region and the oil. Their dream would be to rely primarily on air power and encourage the American public to forget about Iraq, while the corporations move in and take over.
Posted by DeanOR at June 23, 2006 01:42 AMNo one is going to tell Little Boots what to do. Hell, he doesn't even obey the Constitution of the United States or any other laws for that matter. Furthermore, what can Iraq or the UN do if Bush refuses to leave? To Bush, the UN is like the Constitution, both are just small inconveniences.
Posted by Judith at June 23, 2006 01:44 AMBut maybe Halliburton and the other Beltway Bandits are not finished at the hog trough.
Posted by bob h at June 23, 2006 03:56 AMNothing happens quickly when diplomacy is involved. The Iraqi PM has been attempting to assert authority and this is (insofar as America is concerned) a good attempt because it could make us part of the Coalition of the Going.. However, if I were an Iraqi sectarian "insurgent" or citizen, I would want to negotiate and continue fighting at the same time simply because I'd have little to lose that I am not losing already. I will be surprised if they call a cease-fire. And if I were a real insurgent, I'd look at what's going on in Afganistan, Iran and Korea and figure the US attention is militarily divided, so my chances are actually better--not worse-- of gaining a better grip on power as time goes on.
Posted by gtash at June 23, 2006 04:18 AMBig bombshell. Is there any sign of it this morning on the news? Hell, no. The main headlines are all aboout how a 'State of Emergency' has been declared in Iraq as violence has cranked up another notch. Or thnat a terror cell with big dreams was arrested last night in a big public sting. American news is completely ignoring this diplomatic development (at least at this hour.)
Posted by idiosynchronic at June 23, 2006 05:08 AMThe ultimate bitchslap for Little Boots, Cheney and Rummy the Dummy: the UN telling thim to get their military out of Iraq.
The celebration party will be held at my house!
Posted by Christopher at June 23, 2006 05:14 AMThis is a bit off-topic I'm afraid, but too friggin' unbelievably stupid to not post. As you probably know, the cops busted seven loonies in Miami, who were apparently planning on renovating the Sears Tower in Chicago.
They claimed to be Muslims, but called themselves the "Seas of David", studied the Bible, and regularly went to a local church to get water. One of them is identified as 'Brother Corey', but they wore turbans. No mention was made of any of them being of Middle Eastern origin. WTF??
They ran night military training operations, and tried to recruit teens into their group. This smells like a bunch of skinheads, hence the turbans to hide that fact, planning a nasty they could blame on al-Quaeda, and get the shit hitting the fan again. Fucking idiots. We'll find out more today I suppose.
Bush isn't going anywhere. His own ego will prevent him from accepting a request by anyone, even the leaders of the country he invaded.
Ten bucks says we declare war on the new Iraqi government inside of ten years.
Posted by Freeman at June 23, 2006 05:51 AMP.S. It really gives me a swell of pride for my country that I'm being sent off to die for a man's ego. Thanks Sir!
Posted by Freeman at June 23, 2006 05:53 AMThe fireworks would really start flying if the Iraqi puppet "government" should do something so impolitic as request that the Empire's troops leave sometime. I seriously doubt that this will ever happen. They exist only because of American force, and they are well aware of that.
But the Iraqi Expeditionary Force ain't going anywhere, whatever a duly elected Iraqi prime minister might "demand". The rhetoric will be that "Murica will decide" when its security is at stake, not some furriners. Iraq sovereignty is a ploy, not a principle.
As if Nero and von Rumsfeld and their corporate successors are going to abandon those specially constructed military bases in a generation.
The only way these troops are coming home, and this deployment ends, is if the criminal Republican Party is utterly swept from power. That would mean the Dems actually explained and exposed the rationale of the whole operation, and the shitbrain voters actually concluded the American Oil Empire and its various "costs" had become unbearable.
That's not ever going to happen, given our failed political system, and non-existent energy policy. So we will "leave" Iraq only after this latest manifestation of egregious American militarism has brought our country and economy to their knees, i.e when we are forced out by the irreversible national decline Nero Jr and the Republican Party have consigned us to.
Posted by euzoius at June 23, 2006 05:58 AMWhen's the last time anyone from the Iraqi 'leadership' left the Green Zone without being part of an armored convoy?
Posted by snark at June 23, 2006 06:27 AMJudith is right - Bush will do whatever he/Cheney wants. If he wants to stay in Iraq and the Iraq government says get out - well, maybe a little more "regime change" will be in order over there. If he/Cheney wake up tomorrow and decide they need the troops out for politics, he will call the Iraqis and tell them we are leaving and they can "ask us to leave now" if it suits them. The men really running the GOP/Admin have no intention of losing power, in Iraq or in the USA. Watch our next elections-they'll pull a rabbit out of a voting machine and on Nov.8 they'll still be running things. Look at all their secret programs that we have heard of, multiply by two and you'll start to get an idea of the grip they have already obtained over our government. They have no intention of giving it up.
Posted by T2 at June 23, 2006 06:30 AMBush is going to be told by somebody what he has to do? Nah, he's the decider. Look for this agreement to be significantly altered before implementation. Dubya doesn't take orders from anybody but Cheney.
Posted by steve duncan at June 23, 2006 07:32 AMIt would be a UN Security Council Resolution.
Which Bush's lackey could veto...
Posted by Siberian at June 23, 2006 07:53 AMOR... Bushmeat takes the opportunity to draw down troops in Iraq and redeploy them into Iran. While Iraq disintegrates into civil war next door under its own chaotic intertia, Bushmeat & Co. go nukular on both nations. Kind of a two'fer, no? (:>
Posted by Donald Cormac at June 23, 2006 08:00 AMThe rest of the world is a bunch of Cut'n Runners!!!
Posted by God Of War at June 23, 2006 08:50 AMI'm with DeanOR on this one.
They will use this to claim victory and get out. The GOP pr machine is much much better than the left.
Question is if the public will buy it. Cynical as I am right now, as long as they get out and get out quickly, the public will reward Little Nero.
Posted by Simp at June 23, 2006 08:52 AMWhen the last American plane out of Iraq reaches an altitude of 5 feet, all of the Bush puppets would be tortured and killed. The cast of the Baghdad version of Sesame Street knows this only too well. Ain't gonna happen.
Posted by TIKI AL at June 23, 2006 09:17 AMOverheard a couple of businessmen talking on Michigan Ave (Chicago) while I was out at lunch:
"Did you hear they caught those guys who were going to take out the Sears Tower on 9/11?"
"Really? They were planning for 9/11? I thought it was after that?"
"No, 9/11."
Seriously, folks, and these people vote.
Posted by ann at June 23, 2006 11:04 AMOMG, ann. My son believes that people should have to take a test to be able to vote, because of the cult of personality thing. Didn't the Chinese have a system like that, centuries ago?
Posted by iamcoyote at June 23, 2006 11:17 AMNow if only the Dems could agree to agree with the Iraq gov't, perhps we could coordinate withdrawing when the latest UN Security Council authorization extension expires? And actually support the concept of UN Peacekeepers REPLACING US Troops along with UN Civilian Technicians?
It seems Maliki just requested that the UN Security Council extend authorization for the US military to remain in Iraq for another six months, within days of Das Bush's recent covert Plop-In to the Green Zone last week, for some obvious arm twisting.
Let's support the concept of NO MORE UN Security Council Extensions for US Troops to remian in Iraq. I know we all think Dopey and Darth can do whatever they damned well want, but the world does have its limits.
If they didn't think it was important to have Maliki request that their presence get a UN extension, why bother to fly over there, if not to forestall a severe embarrassment, and throw in a photo-op to use?
Posted by Kathleen at June 23, 2006 11:21 AMMy son believes that people should have to take a test to be able to vote, because of the cult of personality thing.
I believe people should be tested before they can vote, too. We make immigrants take a test on the Constitution before they become citizens and can vote. We know kids don't get the education they should. Hell, yes, bring on the testing.
Posted by ann at June 23, 2006 12:00 PMEveryone should read Juan Cole's entry - CAIR: Miami Cult not Musims
It seems pretty obvious that they are just a local African-American cult which mixed Judaism, Christianity and (a little bit of) Islam. It seems to be a of vague offshoot of the Moors group founded by Dwight York. I heard on CNN that one of them talked of being Moors. And Batiste, the leader, called whites "devils" in the tradition of the original Nation of Islam and York's Moors. Now CNN is saying one member said they practiced witchcraft [likely meaning Haitian voodoo or perhaps Santeria-like rituals]. One former member is called Levi-El, suggesting he might be associated with the Black Hebrew movement or an offshoot. Now a relative of one of the members, Phanor, said that they wore black uniforms with a star of David arm patch and considered themselves of the Order of Melchizadek. I wonder if it is "Seas of David" or "C's of David", with "c" meaning commando or some such?Posted by idiosynchronic at June 23, 2006 12:18 PM
How does a corn fed, apple pie Iowa boy learn of these dark things?
Posted by TIKI AL at June 23, 2006 02:06 PMHe reads TIKI, very edjumacated. Plus he works on them darn computers. Smarty pants.
Posted by Seven of Six at June 23, 2006 07:40 PMTIKI, If your available I'll be in Tempe Mon. 6-26 around 1230, ASU campus if you want to have lunch or a water. contact through coyote.
Posted by Seven of Six at June 23, 2006 07:58 PM