Thank you, President Obama, for pulling all troops from Iraq

[MannyGoldstein]

Assuming that also includes Blackwater and other mercenaries, it's the right thing to do.

[MannyGoldstein]

1. Even this gets unrecced?

Tough crowd.

[Rowdyboy]

2. Remember where you are....

Some are unhappy because this doesn't fit their meme.

[BlueCaliDem]

7. Sadly, that's all too true. eom

[mkultra]

27. Its you, not the topic.

[Divernan]

3. U.S. Blocks Oversight of Its Mercenary Army in Iraq

http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2011/07/iraq-merc-army/

By January 2012, the State Department will do something it’s never done before: command a mercenary army the size of a heavy combat brigade. That’s the plan to provide security for its diplomats in Iraq once the U.S. military withdraws. And no one outside State knows anything more, as the department has gone to war with its independent government watchdog to keep its plan a secret.

Stuart Bowen, the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction (SIGIR), is essentially in the dark about one of the most complex and dangerous endeavors the State Department has ever undertaken, one with huge implications for the future of the United States in Iraq. “Our audit of the program is making no progress,” Bowen tells Danger Room.

For months, Bowen’s team has tried to get basic information out of the State Department about how it will command its assembled army of about 5,500 private security contractors. How many State contracting officials will oversee how many hired guns? What are the rules of engagement for the guards? What’s the system for reporting a security danger, and for directing the guards’ response?

And for months, the State Department’s management chief, former Ambassador Patrick Kennedy, has given Bowen a clear response: That’s not your jurisdiction. You just deal with reconstruction, not security. Never mind that Bowen has audited over $1.2 billion worth of security contracts over seven years.

[Divernan]

4. "Lack of senior level participation" at State. Mercenaries will run rings around them.

http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2011/07/iraq-merc-army /

About as much information as the department has disclosed about its incipient private army comes from a little-noticed Senate hearing in February. There, the top U.S. military and civilian officials in Iraq said that they’d station the hired guard force at Basra, Irbil, Mosul and Kirkuk, with the majority — over 3,000 — protecting the mega-embassy in Baghdad. They’ll ferry diplomats around in armored convoys and a State-run helicopter fleet, the first in the department’s history.

But there are signs of even deeper confusion as State prepares to take the lead in Iraq. An internal State Department audit from June faulted top officials for “a lack of senior level participation” (.pdf) in an “unprecedented” transition to civilian control. The result is that “several key decisions remain unresolved, some plans cannot be finalized, and progress in a number of areas is slipping,” the audit concluded. It raises the prospect that the U.S. military will leave Iraq the same way it entered it — without any planning worthy of the name.

Bowen has minimal visibility into State’s planning process. His teams of auditors are in Iraq, reviewing reconstruction contracts for waste, fraud and abuse, as they have since the early days of the war. They just can’t see anything about the guard force. As far as Bowen is concerned, even though there’s been a nearly 90 percent drop in violence since the surge, State’s hired army still acts like Iraq is a killing field, with death squads and insurgents around every corner.

“Have the standards for convoy travel changed at all from the worst moments of Iraq civil war? The answer’s no,” Bowen says. Diplomats are allowed an hour for meetings outside secured U.S. fortresses. Then it’s time to hit the road, in armored cars full of men armed to the teeth and wearing black sunglasses.

[gateley]

13. This IS worrisome, IMO. I don't understand why we need such

a presence there -- is it just for oil?

Bushco must have had big plans in mind when they began building the new embassy -- isn't it the largest ever?

Regardless, I'm very happy our service men and women won't be there any longer.

[razorman]

5. It hasn't happened yet. I'm still in "wait-and-see" mode.

[Tx4obama]

6. ALL of the U.S. Troops. U.S. Troops are Army, Marines, etc. NOT paid civilians.

Thank you President Obama for keeping another promise :)

[BlueCaliDem]

8. I would K&R your comment!

I'm very proud of our President. :toast:

[Empowerer]

9. Those goalposts keep moving, don't they?

[TheKentuckian]

21. Shit, that goal post was set in concrete when Obama was a state senator, as far as I'm concerned.

[Blaukraut]

10. Exactly. n/t

[msongs]

11. congrats to obama for the troops. now r we stuck paying for all the crummy "contractors" still? nt

[opihimoimoi]

12. Cutting the losses is a big step in solving our financial affairs...Irag is a big Pain Drain

[Laura PourMeADrink]

14. Yes, it took forever, but thank you, bless you, everything good. nt

[johnaries]

15. Once again, Manny, you failed to do your homework and tried

to paint a negative picture. Those of us who do our homework see the truth.

[xiamiam]

16. really?

[MjolnirTime]

17. every rose has it's thorn with you, eh?

[bvar22]

18. K&R up to +3 Kudos for Obama.

I don't care How, Who, or WHY,
President Obama has stated unambiguously that our troops are coming OUT of Iraq.
We are celebrating at our home.

Now Make It So.

[Prism]

22. Yup, I'm not going to niggle either

You said it. I don't care how or who or why.

We're leaving. This is an unalloyed good thing.

[Rosa Luxemburg]

19. What will the 'contractors' do now?

[sad sally]

24. Got to protect the American mics hardware - $13 billion in pending arms sales - not bad.

As part of that increase, the State Department will double its complement of security contractors -- fielding a private army of over 5,000 to guard the embassy and other diplomatic outposts and protect personnel as they travel beyond the fortifications, the official said. Another 3,000 armed guards will protect Office of Security Cooperation personnel, who are responsible for sales and training related to an estimated $13 billion in pending U.S. arms sales, including tanks, squadrons of attack helicopters and 36 F-16s.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/09/16/us-embassy-iraq-state-department-plan_n_965945.html?du

[GSLevel9]

20. rest of the sentence...

... on George Bush's timetable after failing in negotiations to keep 5-10K troops there.

[polichick]

23. Both the op and this are true, when the prez could have ended the war as soon as he was elected...

That is, if he really is the one in charge.

[Tx4obama]

25. Your OP is NOT really a thank you. You screwed it up when you added the 'assuming' part. n/t

[DCBob]

26. If we removed all the private security personnel we would have to rely totally on Iraqi security...

to protect our diplomats and other US govt personnel. I dont think that is wise at this point.

[Johnny2X2X]

28. Hypocrisy

The criticism from the Right on this is the height of hypocrisy. This was a time table set by Bush. Iraq wants us out. Anything Iran gains from this was a forgone conclusion since the start of the war.

Do these wingnuts really want to keep our troops in Iraq indefinitely?