attackerman.firedoglake.com - 11/26/2008
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Brilliant idea: send Dick Holbrooke to Iraq!
online.wsj.com - 11/21/2008
mcclatchydc.com - 11/20/2008
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mcclatchydc.com —
WASHINGTON — Although the Pentagon officially has welcomed
the new accord on a U.S. troop withdrawal from...
Iraq, senior military officials are privately criticizing President Bush for giving Iraq more control over U.S. military operations for ...
(more)
Why the U.S. blinked on its troop agreement with Iraq
mudvillegazette.com - 11/26/2008
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mudvillegazette.com —
Actually, McClatchy calls it an " unofficial translation
from the Arabic ". There are some bits that...
are more interesting than others ("Iraqi airspace control and monitoring will be transferred to the Iraqi authorities immediately as this ...
(more)
SOFA Text?
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Just the Man for the Job
Matthew Yglesias —
... Richard Holbrooke’s not going to be Secretary of State and he’s not going to be Deputy Secretary. I think the feeling is that he would regard the remaining jobs available is unworthy of his stature. And yet Spencer Ackerman has an intriguing suggestion — perhaps Holbrooke should be our next Ambassador to Baghdad. After all, even those of us who haven’t always agreed with Holbrooke on some issues would have to concede that he’s really excelled as a troubleshooter and a negotiator. And even as the tactical military situation in Baghdad has improved, ...
Think Higher for Holbrooke
democracyarsenal.org —
... and Spencer Ackerman both ask: why not Richard Holbrooke for Ambassador to Iraq? That's a legitimate question, especially given Holbrooke's ability to wrangle with the very toughest customers, but as a strictly hypothetical exercise, I wonder whether his formidable persona might fit better in a more elevated role - something like special envoy to the Middle East. ...
Jihad Journal
N/A —
... peaceful, it could still go to pieces before or after the SOFA ends.
Iraqis will get to decide what their country will be. Which is as it should be. The irony, of course, is that Bush has always pitched Iraq as the first piercing point in his Freedom Agenda. The problem has been all these freedom seeking Iraqis demanding what’s theirs while Bush holds on. A country should be sovereign. But not too sovereign.
What to do now? Who we have there in a non military role will matter. A lot.
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