Iraq is Obama's Occupation Now

[Orwellian_Ghost]

In Kut, southeast of Baghdad, a girl cries after her mother was killed in a US military raid. (Photo: AP)

And So It Goes ...

Monday 27 April 2009
by: Dahr Jamail

Last week found Iraq swimming in blood once again. Attacks last Thursday brought the worst violence Iraq has seen in over a year, with at least 96 Iraqis killed and 157 wounded in two massive suicide bombings. Over 35 bombings have rocked Baghdad this month alone. There appears to be no end in sight for the escalating violence. For an Obama administration that plans to keep at least 50,000 US troops in Iraq indefinitely, look no further for a justification in doing so.

On Friday, further slaughter assaulted Iraq, with 93 killed and another 163 wounded as the attacks continued unabated. Saturday was a light day, with "only" 15 Iraqis killed and 22 wounded, while Iraqi security forces reportedly defused 20 bombs and two booby-trapped cars in Baghdad.

Meanwhile, violence most likely related to the growing battle between government forces and the Sahwa, who are stepping up attacks against government and US forces, continues. In the last three days, clashes erupted at a police checkpoint in Fallujah, three men were killed while planting an improvised explosive device (IED) in Khanaqin, three Sahwa fighters were arrested north of Babel while planting an IED, an IED targeting Sahwa members in Udhaim killed three members and wounded three others, gunmen killed a member of the Sahwa in Mussayab, a car bomb was defused in Fallujah and two Sahwa members were wounded in a blast in Iskandariya. And, by the way, at least five US soldiers have been killed in the last five days.

Sunday found another 12 Iraqis killed and five wounded. A US military raid of a home in Kut brought the deaths of a man and his sister-in-law, who just happened to be the wife of a local clan leader; additionally, four Iraqis, one of them, a police officer, were arrested. Protests erupted as angry Iraqis denounced the raid. During a funeral procession in Kut where the cloth-draped coffins of the dead were carried, protesters called the Americans "criminal occupiers" and demanded the release of the seized men. "We condemn this horrific incident," said Latif al-Tarfa, governor of Wasit province, "It violates the agreements between US forces and the Iraqi government. Innocent people were killed and the city is now very tense. They were poor people. They do not cause any political or security problems."

<snip>

http://www.truthout.org/042709R

[cali]

1. yes, he inherited the occupation

it's his responsiblity to end it as safely as possible.

[Bandit]

2. Yes he made us a Promise...One Brigade a month would leave Iraq

beginning on day one... That was his Promise to America....

[TheWraith]

8. Um, no, it wasn't.

He never promised one brigade a month from day one. NEVER. He said that was a good target rate.

[Orwellian_Ghost]

10. There was deception and obfuscation at every turn but now...

Along with leaving up to 50,000 US troops in Iraq indefinitely, the plan to remove many of the other troops by August 2010 is slipping into the background as the justifications for remaining in Iraq are now being placed in the foreground. Iraq is Obama's occupation now, and circumstances there are ripping away the mask of any promised "change."

- Dahr Jamail

[blindpig]

11. K&R n/t

[Winterblues]

13. I remember his campaign promises a bit different I guess

Apparently I am not the only one that heard him Promise:

President Barack Obama is expected to announce that most U.S. troops will be withdrawn from Iraq by August 2010 – delaying by three months his pledge to remove combat units 16 months after taking office, an administration official said.

Obama is also likely to leave more troops than he promised in place until after parliamentary elections scheduled for December. He originally promised to remove one brigade a month, but appears likely to remove the units on a slower schedule to ensure ample forces are in place for the election, the official said.

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0209/19258.html

[Name removed]

3. Deleted sub-thread

Sub-thread removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Mari333]

4. agree.

the powers that run the united states, the corporate entities and the huge multinational corporations, the defense contractors and the mercenary corps, the myriad of people whose wealth is rooted in war war war and more war..he is still allowing Triple Canopy in there with our tax money, still allowing them all from the gun runners to the oil companies to continue to reap profit off of the damned thing. as long as he does, his hands are as dirty as anyone elses. Until he calls out these occupations for what they are, they will continue to be legitimized.
I dont want to hear about him playing chess games when people are being blown to bits.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

5. It's the "Peace with Honor" withdrawal strategy that worked so well in Vietnam.

It's also being attempted in Afghanistan. Lost wars are very bad PR.

[Mari333]

7. always boils down to that doesnt it..PR....

trying to appease that small part of the pop.of chest thumpers in their mothers basements shouting about war war and more war. the same people who voted for Bush but would never enlist .

[Djinn]

14. more importantly they're bad for profits

when people think of the enormous financial cost to the US taxpayer of the Iraq invasion & occupation it's easy to forget that it is extremely profitable to the people it was supposed to profit.

Iraq's economy has been slashed to Year Zero, almost no taxes, foreign ownership of everything, 100% capital flight and zero workers rights.

Slaughter, torture, destruction, it's always about the money.

[SammyWinstonJack]

15. "it's always about the money." ALWAYS!

:thumbsup:

[jonnyblitz]

6. k & r. nt

[TBF]

9. K&R n/t

[Orwellian_Ghost]

12. Obama's Iraq: The Picture of Dorian Gray

Obama's Iraq: The Picture of Dorian Gray
By Jeremy Scahill, Rebel Reports. Posted April 27, 2009.

News that U.S. combat troops won't exactly withdraw from Iraqi cities on June 30th shows the ugly reality behind Obama's facade.

Remember when Barack Obama made that big announcement at Camp Lejeune about how all U.S. combat troops were going to be withdrawn from Iraqi cities by June 30? Liberals jumped around with joy, praising Obama for ending the war so that they could focus on their “good war” in Afghanistan.

Of course, the celebrations were and remain unwarranted. Obama’s Iraq plan is virtually identical to the one on Bush’s table on January 19, 2009. Obama has just rebranded the occupation, sold it to liberals and dropped the term “Global War on Terror” while, for all practical purposes, continuing the Bush era policy (that’s why leading Republicans praised Obama’s plan). In the real world, U.S. military commanders have said they are preparing for an Iraq presence for another 15-20 years, the U.S. embassy is the size of Vatican City, there is no official plan for the withdrawal of contractors and new corporate mercenary contracts are being awarded. The Status of Forces Agreement between the U.S. and Iraq gives the U.S. the right to extend the occupation indefinitely and to continue intervening militarily in Iraq ad infinitum. All it takes is for the puppets in Baghdad to ask nicely…

In the latest episode of the “Occupation Rebranded” mini-series, President Obama is preparing to scrap the June 30 withdrawal timeline.

As The New York Times reports: “The United States and Iraq will begin negotiating possible exceptions to the June 30 deadline for withdrawing American combat troops from Iraqi cities, focusing on the troubled northern city of Mosul, according to military officials. Some parts of Baghdad also will still have combat troops.”

<snip>

The Iraq occupation is like The Picture of Dorian Gray. No matter what public face the Obama administration attempts to present, it only grows more heinous with each passing day.

http://www.alternet.org/waroniraq/138609/obama's_iraq:_the_picture_of_dorian_gray/?page=entire

[MadHound]

16. And it's going to remain his occupation for the foreseeable future

After all, despite his promise to withdraw from Iraq, Obama's plan calls for up to fifty thousand troops to remain in Iraq on what seems to be a permanent basis.

Meanwhile, he's looking to double down on Afghanistan and extend another war that we have no business fighting.

Shades of Vietnam, shades of Vietnam.

[tonycinla]

17. Amateur Night

It all looked so easy from the bleachers...................

[blindpig]

18. So, we should hush up and trust our leadership?

Even though the policies are nearly the same as those we railed against 6 months ago?

That stinks of hypocrisy.