Declaration Of 'Enduring' Presence
On Monday, President Bush and Iraqi
Prime Minister Nouri Al-Maliki signed a non-binding "Declaration
of Principles for a Long-Term Relationship of Cooperation and Friendship"
that will set the parameters for negotiating an "enduring" political,
economic, cultural, and security relationship between the United States
and Iraq. In the agreement, the two heads of state agreed to "extend
the mandate of the
Multi-National Force-Iraq (MNF-I) under Chapter VII of the United
Nations
Charter" for one final year, which will give the two countries "another
year to negotiate our
bilateral arrangement" that will address "issues such as what
mission U.S. forces in Iraq will pursue, whether
they will establish permanent bases, and what kind of immunity, if any,
should be granted to private security contractors." The statement
envisions that by the end of President Bush's term, Iraq
will be removed from its Chapter 7 U.N. designation "as a
threat to international peace and security," which it has been under
since Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait in 1990. The underlying deal of the
agreement, according to "two senior officials," is "a
long-term troop presence in Iraq and preferential treatment for
American investments in return for an American guarantee of long-term
security including defense against internal coups." The "shape and
size" of the long-term commitment of troops is yet to be determined,
according to White House war czar Gen. Doug Lute, but it will be "a
key part of the negotiations" that occur over the next year.
PERMANENT BASES?: In the
security section of the agreement, the United States commits in
concept to
help "deter foreign aggression against Iraq" as well as "combat all
terrorist
groups, at the forefront of which is Al-Qaeda, Saddamists, and all
other
outlaw groups regardless of affiliation." The White
House will not say definitively whether such a security
guarantee will require permanent bases for American troops. In a press
briefing on Monday,
Lute said that bases are "another
dimension of continuing
U.S. support to the government of Iraq, and will certainly be a key
item
for negotiation next year." In June, Bush administration officials told
The New York Times that they envision "maintaining
three or four major bases in the country." Maliki's administration
has given unclear and at times conflicting
accounts of his position on permanent bases. Haidar Abadi, a
Shiite parliament member who serves as an adviser to al-Maliki, told
Tribune Newspapers that "no
military bases will be offered for long terms like in South Korea,"
but in a conference call with reporters, Iraqi government spokesman Ali
al-Dabbagh, refused
to rule out the possibility of bases, saying only that it "is going
to be discussed with the political parties." Iraq's National Security
Adviser Mowaffak Al-Rubaie has previously told the White House that
there should be "no
military bases for Iraq."
WHO NEEDS CONGRESS?: According
to Lute, the bilateral arrangement that will be worked out over the
next year is not intended to "lead
to the status of a formal treaty," but will establish more of a
status of forces agreement (SOFA), which is "the basic
document for garrisoning U.S. forces on foreign soil." "We don't
anticipate now that these negotiations
will lead to the status of a formal treaty which would then bring us to
formal negotiations or
formal inputs from the Congress," said Lute. If the Bush
administration wants "to commit the
United States to the long-term security of Iraq without a word
of
discussion with Congress" through a status of forces agreement,
then it will be in accord with "historical practice," according
to Peggy
McGuinness, a former State Department official and current law
professor at the University of Missouri, because "a SOFA is
usually a purely executive agreement." The agreement's lack of
congressional input was blasted by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's
(D-NV) office, who said that "President Bush is now trying to
unilaterally
negotiate an agreement
with Iraq on security -- an area [where]
the President has absolutely
zero credibility." The situation is quite different, however, in
Iraq. The Iraqi constitution requires that the Iraqi parliament ratify "international
treaties and agreements by a two-thirds majority." The approval of
the agreement by Iraq's parliament is in no way guaranteed, considering
that in May, 144
out of 275 parliamentarians signed a petition
calling for a phased withdrawal of U.S. forces. In fact, the agreement
is
already drawing
criticism from various
sections of the Iraqi parliament.
POLITICAL RECONCILIATION?: In
his press conference on Monday, Lute said
that he is "confident that" the agreement "will
actually contribute to" political "reconciliation in the long run."
Lute says the agreement "will cause different sects inside the Iraqi
political structure not to have to hedge their bet in a
go-it-alone-like
setting" because "they'll be able to bet on the reliable partnership
of the United States." Lute's optimistic assessment of the political
persuasiveness of a long-term U.S. presence in Iraq is contradicted
somewhat by the opposition the agreement is already facing. According
to correspondents for the BBC, the prospect that "US investors
benefiting from preferential treatment could earn huge profits from
Iraq's vast oil reserves" is "causing
widespread resentment among Iraqis." Both Sunni and Shia
politicians have said that they worry the agreement could lead to "U.S.
interference for years to come." One leading Iraqi
politician, Saleh Mutlaq, who heads the smaller of two Sunni blocs
in parliament, said that his constituency will view the deal as "a U.S.
imposition" and that a timetable for withdrawal is needed instead.
In fact, contrary to what the Bush administration claims, a
date certain for redeployment of troops out of Iraq is more likely
the needed "leverage to advance a political settlement between
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FLORIDA:
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cost Florida 5 percent of its economic output by 2100."
MINNESOTA: Violent crime has significantly dropped in Minneapolis.
ENVIRONMENT:
Twelve states sue the Environmental Protection Agency for
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THINK
PROGRESS: CNN rejects 5,000 YouTube questions submitted by the
public to give airtime to right-wing activist Grover Norquist.
TV
NEWSER: Two weeks before resigning, President Bush's economic
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MEDIA MATTERS:
On Fox News, Pat Buchanan claims "America [is] committing suicide"
while "Asian, African and Latin American children come to inherit the
estate."
TPM
ELECTION CENTRAL: Another source confirms that Mitt Romney lied
about the context of his anti-Muslim comments in Las Vegas.
"We have had troops in South Korea for 60 years and nobody minds."
- Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), 6/4/07
VERSUS
PBS HOST CHARLIE ROSE: Do
you think that
this Korea, South Korea is an analogy of where Iraq might be ...
in terms of an American
presence over the next, say, 20, 25 years, that we will have a
significant amount of troops there?
MCCAIN: I don't think so.
-- McCain, 11/27/07
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