wonkroom.thinkprogress.org - 11/17/2008
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On Saturday, in what has become one of the rituals of Iraqi politics, a delegation of Shiite lawmakers and government officials met with Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani to review the latest changes to the status of forces agreement. According to “ an official in Sistani’s office who ...
rossdouthat.theatlantic.com - 11/19/2008
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rossdouthat.theatlantic.com —
Jim Geraghty : So Joe Lieberman is keeping
his chairmanship of the Homeland Security Committee on the...
say so of 42 Senate Democrats AND President Obama ; his Secretary of State might be Iraq War supporter and preconditionless-summit opponent Hillary ...
(more)
Eyes on the Prize
jpost.com - 11/19/2008
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jpost.com —
"We are ready to do whatever is demanded
of us" in order to stop Iran from getting...
a nuclear weapon, IAF commander Maj. -Gen. Ido Nehushtan told German magazine Der Spiegel in an interview published Tuesday. Nehushtan told the magazine that whether a ...
(more)
Israeli Air Force chief: We are ready to deal with Iran ...
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Iraq, Iran and Us
Taylor Marsh —
BY TAYLOR MARSH
h/t Wonk Room
The Iraqi parliament, as most of you know, approved the Status of Forces Agreement for a full withdrawal by 2011. Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani gave the "green light" for the Iraqis to sign it.
Michael Ware is interviewed above giving his assessments of who was involved and a bit about what it means. But as most know who have been paying attention, Iran’s become a much bigger player in Iraqi reality, which many forget to factor in. ...
CNN’s Michael Ware on Iraq withdrawal agreement: ‘Tehran was in the room.’
Think Progress —
On Sunday, Iraq’s cabinet “overwhelmingly approved a proposed security agreement that calls for a full withdrawal of American forces from the country by the end of 2011.” Earlier today, the Wonk Room’s Matt Duss spoke to CNN’s Michael Ware, who said that the agreement is testament to Iran’s influence in Iraqi politics:
WARE: Iran has a whip hand, or a key hand at least, within the political framework there. So during these negotiations between Baghdad and Washington, Tehran — whether we like it or not ...
Kagan: Status Of Forces Agreement Was ‘A Great Accomplishment For Us’ Because It’s ‘Opposed By Iran’
Think Progress —
... Kagan’s claims echo those of former Coalition Provisional Authority spokesman Dan Senor, who argued on Monday that the SOFA’s passage represented a “defeat” for Iran. But their argument misreads the reality on the ground. ...
Reality Bites
Obsidian Wings —
... to portray the potential ratification of the SOFA as a great defeat for Iran (it isn't), reality is stubborn, uncoopearative and has a ...
Richard Perle: Still Crazy After All These Years
Antiwar.com Original —
N ow that the greatest strategic disaster in American military history is an accomplished fact , its architects are distancing themselves from their handiwork. For the past year or two, we have been treated to the spectacle of what might be called neoconservative panic syndrome the cabal that lied us into war is frightened to death of being held responsible for the catastrophe. Their catastrophe. And who can blame them? After all, the consequences could include prosecution for all sorts of crimes, running the ...
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