Iraqi Cabinet Approves Security Pact Deal

[irishmick79]

So....where should we go to surrender?

Iraq's Cabinet approves U.S. security pact
Story Highlights
Pact says all U.S. troops to leave Iraq by the end of 2011

Deal approved by Cabinet now goes to parliament for another vote

Iraqi official: Final changes to draft make pact "satisfactory" for Iraqis

Some officials say they will oppose any deal that compromises Iraq's sovereignty

BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- The Iraqi Cabinet on Sunday approved a security pact that would set the terms for U.S. troops in Iraq.

The agreement sets June 30, 2009, as the deadline for U.S. troops to withdraw from all Iraqi cities and towns, Iraqi government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh said.

The date for all troops to leave Iraq will be December 31, 2011, he said.

These dates are "set and fixed" and are "not subject to the circumstances on the ground," he said.

Twenty-seven of the 40 Cabinet members in attendance voted in favor of the agreement, said Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari. One minister abstained.

The Cabinet consists of the prime minister, two deputy prime ministers, and 37 other ministers.

The approved draft will be sent to the Council of Representatives, Iraq's 275-seat parliament, later Sunday, where it will be put to another vote. "There is great optimism that they will pass it," said Industry Minister Fawzi Hariri.

Al-Dabbagh said the parliament speaker and his deputies will decide when the parliament will vote on the agreement. He said there were "positive attitudes" when the major political blocs met to discuss the draft plan on Saturday.

Zebari said the parliament will reach a decision before it takes a 15-day recess on November 25.

Earlier, Sami al-Askari, an advisor to the Iraqi prime minister, said the draft included changes that made it "satisfactory" for the Iraqis.

For months, the United States and Iraq have been negotiating a proposed status of forces agreement. It would set the terms for U.S. troops in Iraq after the U.N. mandate on their presence expires at the end of this year.

Many Iraqi officials say they will oppose any deal that hints at compromising the country's sovereignty.

Iraqi cleric Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani said in a statement on his official Web site last week that he will "forbid any stance that targets the sovereignty of Iraq no matter how small it is."

In late October, Iraqi officials submitted several amendments to the draft plan to U.S. negotiators in Baghdad.

Zebari said at the time that the proposed changes called for a fixed timetable for U.S. troop withdrawal; a specific number of sites and locations that would be used by the U.S. military; and Iraqi jurisdiction over U.S. forces who commit certain crimes in Iraq.

CNN's Jomana Karadsheh, Thomas Evans and Mohammed Tawfeeq contributed to this report.

And the Bush administration concedes defeat of their entire Iraq agenda. At least Bush recognized that he really had no choice but to accept what the Iraqis were demanding. Obama would have probably pulled the plug on any deal involving a long-term or indefinite troop deployment. Somebody explain to me, what exactly did the US get out of this war? Other than a giant shit burger, I mean.

[Coyote]

Ummm... finally ending the 1991 Gulf War? [semi-sarcasm].

So, December 31st, 2011... regardless of situations on the ground. Interesting. Negotiate an agreeable "out" while things are relatively quiet and stable, then if things go to hell by the pullout date, it can be blamed on poor Iraqi handling. Hmm.

Or, more likely, Bush just negotiated to give President Obama a shit sandwich just as the 2012 election cycle starts to ramp up.

[CmdrWilkens]

Bush was negotiating for a permanent SoF so this is honestly the Iraqis playing hardball and pointing out that they could give nothing and take everything if they so chose. The UN mandate which provides legal cover for the troops expires so this agreement is much more about Bush covering the last 20 days in office than caring about the 4 years to follow him.

[Sidewinder]

It's already too late for some of my friends (they died during or shortly after their deployments), but hopefully the Iraqi Parliament will recognize this deal is their best chance to get American troops out of their nation, and approve it.

[Ekiqa]

The US didn't get much, but Bush's friends in the private sector got a lot.

Look at all those contracts for rebuilding, the oil companies that were able to move in.
It will be interesting to see which company hires Bush as an "advisor" or something as soon as he leaves office.

[Guardsman Bass]

Ummm... finally ending the 1991 Gulf War? [semi-sarcasm].

So, December 31st, 2011... regardless of situations on the ground. Interesting. Negotiate an agreeable "out" while things are relatively quiet and stable, then if things go to hell by the pullout date, it can be blamed on poor Iraqi handling. Hmm.

Or, more likely, Bush just negotiated to give President Obama a shit sandwich just as the 2012 election cycle starts to ramp up.

Since they've been arguing about this for at least a month if not more, it was probably inevitable unless McCain had somehow been elected and had decided to be a dick about it.

But yeah, looks like the entire long-term agenda has taken a blow in that neck of the woods. So much for what Condoleeza Rice mentioned at the end of The War Within, about neutralizing Iranian influence by pulling the Sunni powers together and stationing plenty of troops right on the Iranian border. Looks like, at best, we'll get an shiite-dominated Iraq that will play around with both the US and Iran, since many of the shiite political parties have Iran connections, and they probably will need US military hardware.