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washingtonindependent.com - 11/7/2008

Now That Obama’s Elected, Iraq Will Sign Basing Deal

— washingtonindependent.com — Barely a week ago, the Iraqi government was refusing to sign a status of forces agreement with the U.S. military, despite the agreement’s guarantee of a full-scale troop withdrawal by 2011. Prominent Iraqi dignitaries were talking about ... (more) Now That Obama’s Elected, Iraq Will Sign Basing Deal

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Barack Obama

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longwarjournal.org - 11/7/2008

Iraqi troops kill senior al Qaeda in Iraq leader

— longwarjournal.org — Abu Ghazwan. Image is from an Iraqi wanted poster. Iraqi troops scored a blow against al Qaeda in Iraq's network during a series of operations in the Tarmiyah region. Iraqi soldiers, backed by the local Sons of Iraq and US ... (more) Iraqi troops kill senior al Qaeda in Iraq leader

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Iraq

al-Qaeda in Iraq

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longwarjournal.org - 11/6/2008

Iraq announces plan to expand the Air Force

— longwarjournal.org — Iraq will purchase 516 military aircraft from the United States and France for its new Air Force, a senior Iraqi military official said this week. The planes and helicopters will provide Iraq with its first significant air combat and strike ... (more) Iraq announces plan to expand the Air Force

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Heckuva Job Surgie
Obsidian Wings — ... by some of the brighter lights in the progressive foreign policy firmament that, due to this dynamic, the US must begin to remove forces (and threaten, credibly, a complete withdrawal) in order to focus the mind of Iraq's leadership on addressing grievances of minority groups that it could previously afford to ignore - by virute of the presence of those US forces.  However, Reidar Visser argues that The Surge may have rendered even this bit of hoped-for leverage impotent.  Maliki might not view the threat of withdrawal with the same sense of urgency that he would have ...

Withdrawing from Iraq
Firedoglake — ... One of the biggest problems is Maliki's perception of his own strength.  Folks like Visser and Eric Martin have been arguing that the central government's increasing strength means it thinks it can survive without the US.  Combine with Iranian pressure to get the US out, and stupidity like the raid into Syria; add in a dollop of general Iraqi hatred of the American occupation, and you've got the unwillingness to sign the SOFA.  Iraqis want the US out, and no longer fearing that much for his life and power without the US, Maliki is willing to go along.   ...

When Will Obama Withdraw from Iraq?
Firedoglake — ... One of the biggest problems is Maliki's perception of his own strength. Folks like Visser and Eric Martin have been arguing that the central government's increasing strength means it thinks it can survive without the US. Combine with Iranian pressure to get the US out, and stupidity like the raid into Syria; add in a dollop of general Iraqi hatred of the American occupation, and you've got the unwillingness to sign the SOFA. Iraqis want the US out, and no longer fearing that much for his life and power without the US, Maliki is willing to go along. ...