news.yahoo.com - 11/19/2008
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BAGHDAD Iraq's cabinet overwhelmingly approved a security pact on Sunday that will enable a continued American military presence in Iraq for up to three more years, overcoming protests from hard-line Shiite nationalists and pressure from Iran to block the deal. It is expected to go before the ...
online.wsj.com - 11/20/2008
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online.wsj.com —
WASHINGTON -- President-elect Barack Obama is facing an
early confrontation with the Pentagon over the hot-button issue...
of how fast to withdraw U.S. forces from Iraq, with some senior officers arguing for a slower drawdown. Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman ...
(more)
Pentagon Wary of Fast Iraq Withdrawal
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
washingtonpost.com - 11/20/2008
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washingtonpost.com —
Washington Post Staff Writer Monday, November 17, 2008;
4:43 PM The U.S. military would require two to...
three years to remove its roughly 150,000 troops and equipment from Iraq safely, and the timing of that withdrawal should be based on security ...
(more)
Mullen: U.S. Would Need More Than 2 Years for Iraq ...
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Sadr Takes Aim at New U.S.-Iraq Agreement
Pajamas Media —
The document is signed but its future is uncertain. [image] After the Iraqi cabinet voted in approval, Iraq’s Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari and U.S. Ambassador Ryan Crocker met in Baghdad to sign the Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA). Both diplomats hailed the event as a “historic” one — not an overstatement as their meeting was the fruit of many months of deliberations and negotiations. Reportedly, SOFA has a sister document whose details are yet to be made public. Radio Sawa reported that Zebari and Crocker signed “another long-term strategic agreement, which the U.S. ...
Sadr Takes Aim at New U.S.-Iraq Agreement
IRAQ THE MODEL —
After the Iraqi cabinet voted in approval, Iraq’s Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari and U.S. Ambassador Ryan Crocker met in Baghdad to sign the Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA). Both diplomats hailed the event as a “historic” one — not an overstatement as their meeting was the fruit of many months of deliberations and negotiations. Reportedly, SOFA has a sister document whose details are yet to be made public. Radio Sawa reported that Zebari and Crocker signed “another long-term strategic agreement, which the U.S. ambassador said would shape relations between the two countries ...
Related: iraq cabinet signed
U.S. - Iraq pact let's U.S. stay till 2011 —
The Swamp
by Frank James
So what exactly is in the Status of Forces Agreement or SOFA between the U.S. and iraq which was approved by the Iraqi cabinet yesterday and signed by U.S. and Iraqi representatives today? The answer is we're not exactly sure.
We know the agreement would allow U.S. ...
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