Bremer: U.S. Ready to End Iraq Occupation June 30

[NNN0LHI]

Gosh. Why are we still sending troops over there then?

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Iraq (news - web sites)'s U.S. administrator said Tuesday he was confident America's occupation would end as planned on June 30 despite an upsurge in violence, and insisted Iraq had nothing in common with Vietnam.

Paul Bremer, the civilian in charge of the U.S. occupation of Iraq, tried to soothe U.S. fears over continuing attacks in Iraq against U.S. troops and civilian contractors and said he was on track to hand over to the Iraqis on June 30.


"We have problems, there's no hiding that, but basically Iraq is on track to realize the kind of Iraq that Iraqis and Americans want, which is a democratic Iraq," he told ABC's "Good Morning America" program.


"We have got some groups who don't agree with that vision -- they are terrorists and former regime guys. ... Instead they think power in Iraq should come out of the barrel of a gun and that is intolerable and we will deal with it."

more

Oops. Forgot the link

http://wireservice.wired.com/wired/story.asp?section=Breaking&storyId=846925&tw=wn_wire_story

[ender]

1. newsflash from BizzarroIraq...

[bemildred]

2. "We have problems, there's no hiding that"

Little freudian slip there ...

[NNN0LHI]

7. At least 21 US dead soldiers in the last 3 days makes it hard to deny n/t

[bemildred]

12. I kinda wonder how long this goes on before they crack?

I would give my left nut to be a fly on the wall and attend
the Tiger-Team(tm) meetings to figure out how to deal with this.
They might even have to get some real, professional military
people in there to help figure out what to do next.

[Jacobin]

41. LOL. That's the first thing I noticed too!!!

"There's no hiding that"

Try as they might.

[Florida_Geek]

3. Simple question Bremer

how many troops can some home on July 1...

[htuttle]

17. Not a single US solider will return home from Iraq July 1st

Let me put that another way: Not a single US soldier will return home from Iraq ALIVE July 1st.

There is no intention to draw down US troops in Iraq this year. Not before June 30th, and not after.

[Mari333]

22. Please. I cant hear that now. n/t

[Walt Starr]

40. Oh plenty of U.S. troops will probably come home alive from Iraq July 1st

Don't they send the most egregiously wounded soldiers to hospitals in the states?

[leftchick]

4. I saw him on TV this morning on several channels...

He looked scared and like he did not believe anything he was saying.

[BlueEyedSon]

8. Leftchick, I love your pick of pics for your sig!

[leftchick]

14. Why thanks BlueEyedSon....

I have more I would like to add but it takes up too much space. These two heros deserve the highest honors at the moment IMHO! :)

[BlueEyedSon]

5. LMFAO!! More black-is-white up-is-down-ism....

escalation = withdrawal.

[Cooley Hurd]

6. This is a bullshit statement...

He certainly doesn't mean that US troops will be withdrawn, just the CPA will hand over power to the Iraqis (and even THAT I doubt)...

[mmm]

34. The US will retain power over ALL things Iraqi after we 'hand it over'

The US will still control all media, utilities, banking,
and the iraqi military PLUS we will forbid employees
from forming unions and such. The ONLY thing we are handing
over, as US troops retreat to the relative saftey of new
bases, is 'security duty' in the cities.
Take all the profit and blame the Iraqis for the
unceasing violence.

[jpak]

45. and the US and UK will control ALL the oil revenue

and will control the CIA's Iraqi Secret Police...

[Gasolinedream]

9. Just in case...

he hasn't noticed, the people killing us the last week are not Saddam loyalists. Fricking idiot!!!

And I thought i heard we would occupy Iraq for years...even if we are not in power.

[bif]

10. Yep, now that we have things under control...

Is he joking? High? Delusional?

[xultar]

11. Just cuz you keep saying it doesn't mean it will come true! n/t

[snooper2]

13. And who are we turning power over to?

Even the stupid media whores are asking this question.

[nodictators]

37. Can you say

Puppet Government

[AJ BENDER]

15. Who The F*ck is He Kidding ?

End the Occupation ?....what a joke..any transfer of power will be in name only...the only person leaving Iraq on June 30th ironically IS none other than Paul Bremer (his term as Phoobah of Iraq is about to expire)... all the troops get to stay in this hellhole that the Chimpstration has created.


"How did it all come to this ?" - Theoden King of Rohan :nuke:

[qb]

16. "Control" will be handed over to the puppet regime on schedule.

The puppetmasters, of course, will reside in the new U.S. embassy.

[SOS]

27. Iraqis will control nothing.

From the current edition of the Nation:

At the end of March, building on his Order 39 of last September, Bremer passed yet another law further opening up Iraq's economy to foreign ownership.

The CPA has also confirmed that after June 30, the $18.4 billion the US government is spending on reconstruction will be administered by the US Embassy in Iraq.... US engineers began construction on fourteen "enduring bases" in Iraq, capable of housing the 110,000 soldiers who will be posted here for at least two more years.

The US occupation authority has also found a sneaky way to maintain control over Iraq's armed forces. Bremer has issued an executive order stating that even after the interim Iraqi government has been established, the Iraqi army will answer to US commander Lieut. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez...
There is one piece of this country, though, that the US government is happy to cede to the people of Iraq: the hospitals.

Taken together, these latest measures paint a telling picture of what a "free Iraq" will look like: The United States will maintain its military and corporate presence through fourteen enduring military bases and the largest US Embassy in the world. It will hold on to authority over Iraq's armed forces, its security and economic policy and the design of its core infrastructure--but the Iraqis can deal with their decrepit hospitals all by themselves..(US Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson revealed just how low a priority this was when he commented that Iraq's hospitals would be fixed if the Iraqis "just washed their hands and cleaned the crap off the walls.")

http://www.thenation.com/doc.mhtml?i=20040419&c=2&s=klein

[leftchick]

18. Hey Don! Do you have a link?

Thanks... :)

[NNN0LHI]

26. Yikes. Added it to to my original post. Sorry n/t

[THUNDER HANDS]

19. hey, look...Irony!

"...Instead they think power in Iraq should come out of the barrel of a gun..."

[Fixated]

20. Link

http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml;jsessionid=SMKZDFWQSAJD0CRBAELCFFA?type=topNews&storyID=4764201

[Beetwasher]

21. Meanwhile, No One Anywhere Has Been Given Any Clue Whatsoever

about just exactly what is going to happen on June 30th. There's no plans, nothing.

What's going to happen? Are they gonna give Chalabai a big key made out of tin foil and have him cut a ribbon?

The occupation is going to end? Does that mean all the troops are coming home? Or is the Chimp going to fly in dressed in a cheerleaders outfit and stand under a banner that says "Occupation Accomplished!"

Meanwhile, nobody in Congress has been notified of any plans or any strategy or ANYTHING that is going to change or be different after June 30th. I guarantee Bremer will still be in Iraq and calling the shots, though he'll probably say he's there as an "advisor". It's a hollow symbolic gesture that will mean NOTHING.

[jobycom]

23. Bad news for him on that whole democracy/gun barrel dichotomy

When 80% want democracy, but 20% want anarchy from the end of a gun barrel, guess who wins?

I wouldn't be suprised to see Bush pull everyone out by June 30th and hope people forget it happened by November. Bremer is right that this is no Viet Nam-- We at least had SOME idea of what we wanted to do in Viet Nam. It was a stupid idea with no ultimate end, but it was a purpose. The only plan in Iraq was to defeat Hussein, get the oil, and live happily ever after. We got Hussein, we will never get the oil (Bush may finally get that), and Bush and company are looking at doing the speech circuit next February because of this bloody nonsense. Bush may want out as quickly as and in any way he can get out.

That doesn't mean his string-pullers will let him leave, though. I wonder what Bush's alcohol intake is these days?

[snippy]

24. Wolfowitz already has said that our "military posture" will not change.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=102&topic_id=460248

[KC21304]

28. And Rumsfeld just said the June 30th deadline

has nothing to do with troop strength. He was answering some questions with head of NATO about 45 minutes ago.

[otohara]

25. Liar

June 30th will come and go and we'll still be there in huge numbers -

[leftchick]

31. Mc Cain Said last night troops will be there...

for at least TEN years!! :grr:

[nolabels]

36. I hope he has lots of sons, because mine won't be

There must not be a lot of difference from a bamboo to a gilded cage

And on Edit: All them folks who think that a few turncoat republicans is a good thing, better check your notes

[The_Casual_Observer]

29. "We have problems, there's no hiding that"

This is the only truth that the asshole has cast out so far.

[pinto]

30. Occupation ends 6/30, "Status of Forces Agreement" starts 7/1.

It's a typical Bushco bait and switch PR position.

[leftchick]

38. right on pinto....

The PNACers will see that their agenda is accomplished no matter the cost in blood or US Taxpayer Money! Someone stop these insane neo-cons!!

[DustMolecule]

32. Maybe he means it. Could this *be the reason* why?

In case you missed it, Sangh0 posted this here: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x1352644


The PNAC wants the US to dominate the entire Middle East, and the removal of Saddam and the occupation of Iraq are critical steps in the plan. In order to dominate Iraq, the US MUST ESTABLISH PERMANENT BASES throughout the Middle East, including Iraq. In order to establish a permanent military presence in Iraq, it MUST negotiate what's known as a "Status of Forces Agreement" (SoFA) with the Iraqi govt. One obstacle to this is the fact that Iraq has no govt to negotiate a SoFA with.

THIS IS WHY BUSH* WANTS A SOVEREIGN IRAQI GOVT!!

Bush* MUST negotiate a SoFA BEFORE the elections because there is no garauntee he will win the election. If he doesn't get the SoFA quickly, they may not get another chance.

more at thread listed above....

[yellowcanine]

33. Headline is incorrect - not occupation which ends June 30

Where did this headline come from? The U.S. is going to "hand over power" to someone on June 30 - that is not the same as ending the occupation. As far as I know - no one has suggested the occupation will end any time in the near future.

[mmm]

35. Correct: Bush has put the lobster claw on Iraq

and he ain't letting go.

[Media_Lies_Daily]

42. Correct. American deaths will continue until morale improves.

[aint_no_life_nowhere]

47. It's All Marketing, Image, and Perception In This MBA Presidency

After June 30th, we'll have a "new and improved" occupation product to market to the American people.

[Dulcinea]

39. We still have troops in Korea after 50 years.

We'll be in Iraq at least that long.

Sad but true.

[Az_lefty]

43. Ridiculous target dates....

This is the same nonsense as Bush declaring the War over last May 1st. The fightings been getting worse ever since. This administration is a charade.

[Chico Man]

44. Bremer: Isn't power in Iraq coming from the barrel of American guns?

Whats the difference?

[jeanmarc]

46. Almost time to celebrate!

I am going to organize a 'Free Iraq' party on the 30th of June. On this day, the Iraqi people are officially free. They will all drop their guns and celebrate the great gift of Democracy that we gave them. I can't wait!!!!!