US troops to be confined to bases Dec 31

[Truthmatters]

POLITICS: Final Text of Iraq Pact Reveals a U.S. Debacle


Its looking like the Iraq pack will not pass the Iraqi congress.

 

[Tech_Esq]

Iraq looks primed to unravel. I guess Biden was right, there will be a serious international crisis within months of Obama taking office that will "test" him. And, as he said, I'm sure it will appear that he gets it wrong at first. He won't ever get it right....that's the part that Biden didn't say.

 

[sealybobo]

POLITICS: Final Text of Iraq Pact Reveals a U.S. Debacle


Its looking like the Iraq pack will not pass the Iraqi congress.

I'm not going to go dig up the details, but I have read that our oil companies are cooking up direct deals with the Kurds that will leave the Iraqi central government out of the loop.

I believe Biden and Democrats proposed Iraq be split up into 3 different countries and the Bush camp called that insane.

But by making a deal with the Kurds that takes the central government out of the loop is doing just that.

And I hear ultimately we will have the most trouble from Iraqi Sunni's, because they don't sit on that much oil. And the shiites are not going to care about the Sunni's.

Anyways, seeing as how Bush hasn't shared any of Iraq's oil revenue with us, and we are still paying $10 billion a month to occupy Iraq, I hope Iraq kicks the American oil companies out of Iraq too. Screw them. They screwed us for 8 years, so I can't help but with them ill.

 

[sealybobo]

Iraq looks primed to unravel. I guess Biden was right, there will be a serious international crisis within months of Obama taking office that will "test" him. And, as he said, I'm sure it will appear that he gets it wrong at first. He won't ever get it right....that's the part that Biden didn't say.

I hear the truth/facts about Iraq all the time on progressive/liberal websites, radio and tv shows. We know exactly what's going on over there. The reason progress isn't being made is because Bush is in charge. That's our only problem.

Bush-Cheney crony got Iraq oil deal

alJazeera Magazine - Bush-Cheney crony got Iraq oil deal

Ray Hunt, the Texas oil man who landed a controversial oil production deal with Iraq’s Kurdistan regional government, has enjoyed close political and business ties with Vice President Dick Cheney dating back a decade – and to the Bush family since the 1970s.

Despite those longstanding connections – and Hunt’s work for George W. Bush as a member of the President’s Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board – the Bush administration expressed surprise when Hunt signed the agreement last September.

 

[sealybobo]

Iraq looks primed to unravel. I guess Biden was right, there will be a serious international crisis within months of Obama taking office that will "test" him. And, as he said, I'm sure it will appear that he gets it wrong at first. He won't ever get it right....that's the part that Biden didn't say.

I bet you don't even see the problem with this.

At that time, administration officials said Hunt Oil’s deal with the Kurds jeopardized delicate negotiations among competing Iraqi sects and regions for sharing oil revenues, talks seen as vital for achieving national reconciliation.

“I know nothing about the deal,” President Bush said. “To the extent that it does undermine the ability for the government to come up with an oil revenue sharing plan that unifies the country, obviously if it undermines it I’m concerned.”

However, on July 2, the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee released documents showing that senior administration officials were aware that Hunt was negotiating with the Kurdistan government and even offered him encouragement.

Hunt also personally alerted Bush’s PFIAB about his oil company’s confidential contacts with Kurdish representatives.

In a letter to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Rep. Henry Waxman, D-California, committee chairman, complained that the administration’s comments last year were “misleading.”

“Documents obtained by the Committee indicate that contrary to the denials of Administration officials, advisors to the President and officials in the State and Commerce Departments knew about Hunt Oil’s interest in the Kurdish region months before the contract was executed,” Waxman wrote.

Waxman said the Hunt-Kurdish case also raised questions about the veracity of similar administration denials about its role in arranging more recent contracts between Iraq and major U.S. and multinational oil companies, including Exxon Mobil, Shell, BP and Chevron.

Plus, there’s the longstanding suspicion that oil was a principal, though unstated, motive behind the Bush administration’s invasion of Iraq, which sits on the world’s second-largest oil reserves.

Administration officials – and much of the mainstream U.S. media – have ridiculed the oil motive charge as a conspiracy theory.

Oil deals
But many of the oil companies now stepping forward to benefit from Iraqi oil were instrumental in both supporting Bush’s political career and giving advice to Cheney’s secretive energy task force in 2001.

For instance, Ray Hunt’s personal relationship with the Bush family dates back to the 1970s as Hunt, the chief of Dallas-based Hunt Oil, helped build the Texas Republican Party as it served as a power base for the Bushes rise to national prominence.

The Hunt family donated more than $500,000 to Republican campaigns in Texas, while Hunt Oil employees and their spouses gave more than $1 million to Republican causes since 1995, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.

Ray Hunt also had strong ties to Dick Cheney during his years at the helm of Halliburton, the Houston-based oil-services giant. In 1998, Cheney tapped Hunt to serve on Halliburton’s board of directors, where Hunt became a compensation committee member setting Cheney’s salary and stock options.

In 1999, when Texas Gov. George W. Bush was running for the Republican presidential nomination, Bush turned to Hunt to help fund his presidential campaign efforts in Iowa, according to Robert Bryce’s book, Cronies: Oil, The Bushes, And The Rise Of Texas, America's Superstate.

“By the summer of 1999, Bush had already raised $37 million but he wanted to conserve his campaign cash so he turned to a Texas crony, Ray Hunt, to help fund the Iowa effort,” Bryce wrote. “In July of 1999, Hunt was among a handful of Bush supporters who each donated $10,000 to the Iowa Republican party.”

In May 2000, Bush appointed Hunt finance chairman of the Republican National Committee. Hunt also donated $5,000 to the Florida recount battle and spent $100,000 on Bush’s inaugural party.


alJazeera Magazine - Bush-Cheney crony got Iraq oil deal

 

[Truthmatters]

The next president whoever it is will be tested.

Every new president is tested.


McCain or Obama will get the same damn test.


Obama will have the world ready to be at his back.

McCain will get the same support Bush has already.

 

[Tech_Esq]

The next president whoever it is will be tested.

Every new president is tested.


McCain or Obama will get the same damn test.


Obama will have the world ready to be at his back.

McCain will get the same support Bush has already.

The reason they will be at his back is to bend his weak ass over. By the time he figures out what happened the entire world will have had a turn. That's what they hate about us now....they don't get to fuck us. Just wait....you'll see.

 

[sealybobo]

The reason they will be at his back is to bend his weak ass over. By the time he figures out what happened the entire world will have had a turn. That's what they hate about us now....they don't get to fuck us. Just wait....you'll see.

What an ignorant post.

 

[sealybobo]

The reason they will be at his back is to bend his weak ass over. By the time he figures out what happened the entire world will have had a turn. That's what they hate about us now....they don't get to fuck us. Just wait....you'll see.

They hate our freedom!!!

 

[WillowTree]

The clearest sign of the dramatically reduced U.S. negotiating power in the final draft is the willingness of the United States to give up extraterritorial jurisdiction over U.S. contractors and their employees and over U.S. troops in the case of "major and intentional crimes" that occur outside bases and while off duty. The United States has never allowed a foreign country to have jurisdiction over its troops in any previous status of forces agreement.

If Bush had any balls at all he would start pulling the troops yesterfuckingday!

 

[Tech_Esq]

What an ignorant post.

Dembot......

 

[user_name_guest]

Your flawed logic is a proven negative towards what you infer on a continuous basis. Please try again.

I bet you don't even see the problem with this.

At that time, administration officials said Hunt Oil’s deal with the Kurds jeopardized delicate negotiations among competing Iraqi sects and regions for sharing oil revenues, talks seen as vital for achieving national reconciliation.

“I know nothing about the deal,” President Bush said. “To the extent that it does undermine the ability for the government to come up with an oil revenue sharing plan that unifies the country, obviously if it undermines it I’m concerned.”

However, on July 2, the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee released documents showing that senior administration officials were aware that Hunt was negotiating with the Kurdistan government and even offered him encouragement.

Hunt also personally alerted Bush’s PFIAB about his oil company’s confidential contacts with Kurdish representatives.

In a letter to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Rep. Henry Waxman, D-California, committee chairman, complained that the administration’s comments last year were “misleading.”

“Documents obtained by the Committee indicate that contrary to the denials of Administration officials, advisors to the President and officials in the State and Commerce Departments knew about Hunt Oil’s interest in the Kurdish region months before the contract was executed,” Waxman wrote.

Waxman said the Hunt-Kurdish case also raised questions about the veracity of similar administration denials about its role in arranging more recent contracts between Iraq and major U.S. and multinational oil companies, including Exxon Mobil, Shell, BP and Chevron.

Plus, there’s the longstanding suspicion that oil was a principal, though unstated, motive behind the Bush administration’s invasion of Iraq, which sits on the world’s second-largest oil reserves.

Administration officials – and much of the mainstream U.S. media – have ridiculed the oil motive charge as a conspiracy theory.

Oil deals
But many of the oil companies now stepping forward to benefit from Iraqi oil were instrumental in both supporting Bush’s political career and giving advice to Cheney’s secretive energy task force in 2001.

For instance, Ray Hunt’s personal relationship with the Bush family dates back to the 1970s as Hunt, the chief of Dallas-based Hunt Oil, helped build the Texas Republican Party as it served as a power base for the Bushes rise to national prominence.

The Hunt family donated more than $500,000 to Republican campaigns in Texas, while Hunt Oil employees and their spouses gave more than $1 million to Republican causes since 1995, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.

Ray Hunt also had strong ties to Dick Cheney during his years at the helm of Halliburton, the Houston-based oil-services giant. In 1998, Cheney tapped Hunt to serve on Halliburton’s board of directors, where Hunt became a compensation committee member setting Cheney’s salary and stock options.

In 1999, when Texas Gov. George W. Bush was running for the Republican presidential nomination, Bush turned to Hunt to help fund his presidential campaign efforts in Iowa, according to Robert Bryce’s book, Cronies: Oil, The Bushes, And The Rise Of Texas, America's Superstate.

“By the summer of 1999, Bush had already raised $37 million but he wanted to conserve his campaign cash so he turned to a Texas crony, Ray Hunt, to help fund the Iowa effort,” Bryce wrote. “In July of 1999, Hunt was among a handful of Bush supporters who each donated $10,000 to the Iowa Republican party.”

In May 2000, Bush appointed Hunt finance chairman of the Republican National Committee. Hunt also donated $5,000 to the Florida recount battle and spent $100,000 on Bush’s inaugural party.


alJazeera Magazine - Bush-Cheney crony got Iraq oil deal

 

[Tech_Esq]

If Bush had any balls at all he would start pulling the troops yesterfuckingday!

Nah...I think it will be a good test. Confine the troops to garrison and let's see if Obama is right. If he is the Iraqis will do the job on their own. If he's wrong, then they will beg us to rejoin the fight. Luckily, we'll still be there to do it.

If the Iraqis can do it on their own, then they should. That's really been the point of everything since the end of major combat operations. I got no problem with that.

 

[WillowTree]

Nah...I think it will be a good test. Confine the troops to garrison and let's see if Obama is right. If he is the Iraqis will do the job on their own. If he's wrong, then they will beg us to rejoin the fight. Luckily, we'll still be there to do it.

If the Iraqis can do it on their own, then they should. That's really been the point of everything since the end of major combat operations. I got no problem with that.

I am personally sick to death of Iraq. We should get the hell outta there. You wanna sit around and see them behead an American soldier? You know that coming down the pike. Fuckers, to hell with them. Ane edit this to say that fucking Murtha would cheer them on! Motherfucker

 

[Tech_Esq]

I am personally sick to death of Iraq. We should get the hell outta there. You wanna sit around and see them behead an American soldier? You know that coming down the pike. Fuckers, to hell with them.

I agree with the sentiment, but remember this is about us and what we get or don't get, not about them. If it becomes about them, then we should leave on the fastest train out.

 

[WillowTree]

I agree with the sentiment, but remember this is about us and what we get or don't get, not about them. If it becomes about them, then we should leave on the fastest train out.

It becomes about them when we give up jurisdiction for our soldiers welfare.

 

[Silence]

Iraq looks primed to unravel. I guess Biden was right, there will be a serious international crisis within months of Obama taking office that will "test" him. And, as he said, I'm sure it will appear that he gets it wrong at first. He won't ever get it right....that's the part that Biden didn't say.

Obama got it right when he openly opposed the war in 2002/2003. He got it right when he said this was a war of choice!

McCain is the one who has been dead wrong this entire time. Espeically when you consider that even Gen Petraus says the surge isn't the reason for the stability in the region.

 

[sealybobo]

Your flawed logic is a proven negative towards what you infer on a continuous basis. Please try again.

Huh? You're too smart for me. Say it like a real American so Palin and I can understand you.

 

[sealybobo]

Obama got it right when he openly opposed the war in 2002/2003. He got it right when he said this was a war of choice!

McCain is the one who has been dead wrong this entire time. Espeically when you consider that even Gen Petraus says the surge isn't the reason for the stability in the region.

AP Exclusive: Kissinger says military victory not possible in Iraq


TOKYO: Former U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, who helped engineer the U.S. withdrawal from Vietnam, said Sunday the problems in Iraq are more complex than that conflict, and military victory is no longer possible.

He also said he sympathizes with the troubles facing U.S. President George W. Bush.

"A 'military victory' in the sense of total control over the whole territory, imposed on the entire population, is not possible," Kissinger told The Associated Press in Tokyo, where he received an honorary degree from Waseda University.

The faceless, ubiquitous nature of Iraq's insurgency, as well as the religious divide between Shiite and Sunni rivals, makes negotiating peace more complex, he said.

"It is a more complicated problem," Kissinger said. "The Vietnam War involved states, and you could negotiate with leaders who controlled a defined area."

AP Exclusive: Kissinger says military victory not possible in Iraq - International Herald Tribune

 

[Tech_Esq]

Obama got it right when he openly opposed the war in 2002/2003. He got it right when he said this was a war of choice!

McCain is the one who has been dead wrong this entire time. Espeically when you consider that even Gen Petraus says the surge isn't the reason for the stability in the region.

Obama is a bum....who cares what he thought in 2002. Wasn't he in the Student Senate then?

Yep, it sure was a war of choice, and a damned good choice it was. We chose to fight the war over there, not wait to fight them over here.

Who cares what McCain thinks, another bum. If you know what Petraus wrote in his Insurgency Operations FM why wouldn't that be his position? He explains in the manual that it is about 80% "soft-power" and only 20% "hard-power", the military is the "hard-power." RTFM!!!!