I've written several times recently (here and here) about the purported long term agreement being negotiated between the U.S. and Iraqi government. Stunning details are emerging today:
A secret deal being negotiated in Baghdad would perpetuate the American military occupation of Iraq indefinitely, regardless of the outcome of the US presidential election in November.
Iraqi officials fear that the accord, under which US troops would occupy permanent bases, conduct military operations, arrest Iraqis and enjoy immunity from Iraqi law, will destabilise Iraq's position in the Middle East and lay the basis for unending conflict in their country.
But the accord also threatens to provoke a political crisis in the US. President Bush wants to push it through by the end of next month so he can declare a military victory and claim his 2003 invasion has been vindicated.
Under the terms of the new treaty, the Americans would retain the long-term use of more than 50 bases in Iraq. American negotiators are also demanding immunity from Iraqi law for US troops and contractors, and a free hand to carry out arrests and conduct military activities in Iraq without consulting the Baghdad government.
The Bush Administration has been pushing hard to have the Iraqi government buy off on the agreement by the end of July, but is now finding resistance within the Iraqi Parliament and the Iraqi public:
A majority of the Iraqi parliament has written to Congress rejecting a long-term security deal with Washington if it is not linked to a requirement that U.S. forces leave, a U.S. lawmaker said on Wednesday.
"The majority of Iraqi representatives strongly reject any military-security, economic, commercial, agricultural, investment or political agreement with the United States that is not linked to clear mechanisms that obligate the occupying American military forces to fully withdraw from Iraq," the letter to the leaders of Congress said.
"What are the threats that require U.S. forces to be there?" asked Nadeem Al-Jaberi, a co-founder of the al-Fadhila Shi'ite political party, speaking through a translator.
"I would like to inform you, there are no threats on Iraq. We are capable of solving our own problems," he declared. He favored a quick pullout of U.S. forces, which invaded the country in 2003 and currently number around 155,000. (Link)
These calls for U.S. withdrawal are a rising tide in Iraq. Cleric Moqtada al Sadr has called for weekly protests until American forces withdraw. With the recent testimony from CIA Director Hayden that al Qaeda forces in Iraq have nearly been defeated, a rationale for a continued presence in Iraq is becoming more and more strained.
It appears more and more likely the debate about when U.S. forces should leave Iraq will be decided for us, not by us.
(h/t The Newshoggers crew)
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