He’s the journalist who threw his shoes at Bush, and it appears that he has been charged with insulting the Iraqi state as a result.
There are already demonstration protesting his detention.
Category: Iraq
OK, We Have Entered Bizarro World
So, Bush sneaks into Baghdad for another round of grandstanding, and he holds a press conference, and things go pear shaped:
A man identified as an Iraqi journalist threw shoes at — but missed — President Bush during a news conference Sunday evening in Baghdad, where Bush was making a farewell visit.
President Bush, left, ducks a thrown shoe as Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki tries to protect him Sunday.Bush ducked, and the shoes, flung one at a time, sailed past his head during the news conference with Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki in his palace in the heavily fortified Green Zone.
The shoe-thrower — identified as Muntadhar al-Zaidi, an Iraqi journalist with Egypt-based al-Baghdadia television network — could be heard yelling in Arabic: “This is a farewell … you dog!”
While pinned on the ground by security personnel, he screamed: “You killed the Iraqis!”
Roll tape:
Hope they Fry
So, 5 Blackwater mercenaries have been formally been indicted for manslaughter as a result of their panicking and shooting everything that moved at a traffic circle in Iraq..
I really hope that they end up in jail. So should the “almost certainly a political appointee” who hired them.
While you are at it, Congress should ratify the anti-Mercenary treaty.
Iraq’s Parliament Approves SOFA
Im not sure how I missed it, but it appears that the Iraqi parliament approved the status of forces agreement with the US in a rather raucous session.
The final capitulations required of Bush and His Evil Minions™ to get this passed are an indicator of just how weak Bush is. He gave away the store, because to do otherwise would require him to admit that Iraq was a mistake, and he’s to narcissistic to do that.
What the Other Matt Said
Matthew Yglesias again:
To go stronger here, it’s worth observing that absolutely integral to starting to achieve success in Iraq was the rolling strategic decision to abandon our main war aims. In particular, we’re now neither trying to create a strong Iraqi state, nor trying to create an Iraqi state that isn’t dominated by pro-Iranian forces, nor trying to create an Iraqi state that’s a base for American military power, nor especially trying to create a stable Iraqi democracy. I think all of those decisions were the right decisions, based in smart pragmatic thinking about Iraqi realities and American interests. But if we didn’t want to do that stuff, that we could have just not invaded in the first place. Which is exactly what we should have done!
(emphasis original)
Too true.
Torture Kills Our Guys
That is what an anonymous author of an editorial in the Washington Post wrote today.
He notes the breakthroughs that he made by using psychological measures designed to build rapport with the detainees, up to and including getting the information used to successfully hunt down Abu Musab al-Zarqawi.
But that was never the norm in Iraq.
He describes a situation where sadism for its own sake is actively encouraged. It is reports of torture that bring in the foreign fighters to Iraq:
Torture and abuse are against my moral fabric. The cliche still bears repeating: Such outrages are inconsistent with American principles. And then there’s the pragmatic side: Torture and abuse cost American lives.
I learned in Iraq that the No. 1 reason foreign fighters flocked there to fight were the abuses carried out at Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo. Our policy of torture was directly and swiftly recruiting fighters for al-Qaeda in Iraq. The large majority of suicide bombings in Iraq are still carried out by these foreigners. They are also involved in most of the attacks on U.S. and coalition forces in Iraq. It’s no exaggeration to say that at least half of our losses and casualties in that country have come at the hands of foreigners who joined the fray because of our program of detainee abuse. The number of U.S. soldiers who have died because of our torture policy will never be definitively known, but it is fair to say that it is close to the number of lives lost on Sept. 11, 2001. How anyone can say that torture keeps Americans safe is beyond me — unless you don’t count American soldiers as Americans.
(emphasis mine)
The answer, of course, is that Republicans don’t count American soldiers as Americans, because, after all, “they all volunteered,” so they demand torture because it makes them feel smug and superior.
Why Bush Caved on Iraqi Demands in SOF Agreement
Short version: Bush needed the agreement, and the Iraqis didn’t.
They knew that if there was no agreement, that they would win, and Bush and His Evil Minions&trade would lose, so they could drive a very hard bargain.
Bush was prisoner of his own ego.
Good News About the Iraq SOF Deal
It appears that the deal not only rescinds immunity for mercenaries contractors, but it does so retroactively, meaning that they could be liable to stand trial in an Iraqi court for earlier actions, like shooting wildly into a crowd at a Baghdad traffic circle:
A new U.S.-Iraq security agreement doesn’t specifically prevent Iraqi officials from bringing criminal charges retroactively in cases such as the September 2007 shooting deaths of 17 Iraqi civilians by contractors protecting a State Department convoy, officials told security company officials during meetings in Washington Thursday
Good.
Hopefully this should get the mercenaries contractors out of Iraq, which would be good for both the Iraqis and our troops, who will find the Iraqi people a little bit less pissed off at Americans.
Iraqi Cabinet Approves SOF Pact
So, now the status of forces agreement goes to the Iraqi Parliament.
Changes demanded by the Iraqi government and accepted by Bush and His Evil Minions™:
- Requiring the U.S. to get Iraqi consent before searching homes.
- Giving Iraqis authority over the international zone that houses the centers of American power in Baghdad.
- Enabling Iraqis to search U.S. cargo.
- Prohibiting Americans from conducting raids in other countries from Iraqi soil.
- Eliminating the judicial immunity that applies to foreign contractors and to a lesser degree that of U.S. soldiers working in Iraq under the occupation’s current mandate.
- A time line for leaving the country.
Basically, the Iraqis knew that Bush had to have this agreement, and so demanded, and got what they wanted.
Obama Victory Gets Status of Forces Agreement Signed
Because they did not trust the Republicans to leave as promised:
“Before, the Iraqis were thinking that if they sign the pact, there will be no respect for the schedule of troop withdrawal by Dec. 31, 2011,” said Hadi al-Ameri, a powerful member of the Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq, a major Shiite party. “If Republicans were still there, there would be no respect for this timetable. This is a positive step to have the same theory about the timetable as Mr. Obama.”
The legacy of the Bush administration is the belief that they, and by extension the United States, could not be trusted to uphold agreements.
Like a Cochroach, He’s Back
Look for a Blowup in Mosul
It appears that Nouri al Maliki is looking at enforcing his Shia vision of Iraq on the city of Mosul, and the Kurds living there are not amused:
The Shiite-led government of Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki is squeezing out Kurdish units of the Iraqi Army from Mosul, sending the national police and army from Baghdad and trying to forge alliances with Sunni Arab hard-liners in the province, who have deep-seated feuds with the Kurdistan Regional Government led by Massoud Barzani.
It looks like the US military will take no actions if a conflict breaks out.
Iraq, the gift that just keeps giving.
Syria Blowback in Iraq
Well, we now have a “senior American official” saying that the raid on the Syrian villiage was a warning to Syria.
Some warning, the Iraqi cabinet was already feeling their oats enough to make further changes to the deal, despite US threats to shut down all US operations in Iraq, military and otherwise.
No one believes them, becauseleaving is too politically crushing to Bush and His Evil Minions™.
But as a result of the raid, which was condemned by the government of Iraq, and is looking at further changes in the status of forces agreement to prevent this in the future.
Heck of a job, Condi.
US Stages Cross Border Raid into Syria
We have reports the US launched a commando raid into Syria, and U.S. officials have confirmed the matter.
It appears that somewhere around 8 people were killed. It appears that the target was, Abu Ghadiya who was described as, “Al Qaeda in Mesopotamia’s “most prominent” smuggler of foreign operatives,” by US sources.
Needless to say, Syria and Iran have condemned the attack.
The analysis here seems to be that the Bush administration is doing this for two reasons, to coerce more action by the local governments against such people, and to establish a precedent for the next president to follow.
What I would worry about is someone like Cuba deciding that this precedent applying to the, and bullets flying in Miami as a result.
Bush Caved Completely in Status of Forces Agreement
The Washington Independent has the scoop. Basically, Bush and His Evil Minions™completely caved to Iraqi demands.
You’ll recall that they pushed back the date to 2011, for, as Nouri al-Maliki admitted, for US domestic political reasons, and that is what it says in sub-article one of article 25 of the agreement:
The U.S. forces shall withdraw from Iraqi territories no later than December 31 2011.
But wait, there’s more, there is also sub-article 6:
U.S. forces may withdraw from Iraq before the dates indicated in this article if either of the two sides should so request. The U.S. government recognizes the Iraqi government’s sovereign right to request a withdrawal of U.S. forces at anytime.
So we leave when we’re told to leave by al Maliki, and indirectly by his sponsors in the government of the Islamic Republic of Iran.
An Interesting Take on MRAP’s in Afghanistan
One of the things in big demand in Iraq were Mine Resistant Ambushed Protected vehicles (MRAP) to deal with road side bombs.
Well it appears that the experience with these vehicles in Afghanistan has been far less positive than in Iraq:
During my recent embed with Marines in Afghanistan’s Helmand Province, the number one gear complaint was the MRAP: it was too wide for most roads, and the top-heavy vehicles were prone to rollover.
Iraq is, after all, a fairly flat country with an excellent road system, and Afghanistan is probably the opposite of this.
Given the high wheel loads and the top heavy nature of these vehicles this is to be expected.
MRAPs are not just a counterinsurgency specific system, they are a “counterinsurgency with good roads specific” system.
Commuter Planes of Death Join Iraqi Air Force
Best
Headline
Ever.
The story is about how the Iraqi air force is hanging Hellfire missiles on Cessna Caravan utility aircraft.
In the larger counter-insurgency environment, this might actually be a superior product to something like an F-16, as it is lower and slower, and thus better able to see the target.
The US should be deploying something like a militarized turboprop trainer to theater.
Iraqi Status of Forces Agreement Near Signing
Irt appears that the new pact calls fortroops to leave Iraqi cities by June with a complete widhdrawal by the end of 2011.
Basically, the Obama plan.
Also, it’s clear that the Iraqis knew that they had the US over a barrel, because immunity for US soldiers is severely curtailed:
U.S. negotiators demanded exclusive jurisdiction over all soldiers and contractors. But Iraq insisted on a role to convince the public that Iraqis – and not Americans – were in charge of their own country.
Under the compromise, the United States would have the primary right to try troops and Pentagon contractors for alleged offenses committed on American bases or during military operations, the officials said.
Such language would presumably shield troops from prosecution for accidentally killing civilians caught in crossfire during authorized combat operations.
But Iraq would have the first option to try U.S. military personnel and contractors for serious, premeditated crimes alleged to have been committed outside American bases and when they were not on an authorized mission, the officials said.
…
American troops would no longer be allowed to detain suspects or search homes without Iraqi legal authorization except in cases of active combat, the officials said. Anyone detained by the Americans must be handed over to the Iraqis within 24 hours
I would note that our status of forces agreements with our NATO allies and Japan give the local authorities far less access to soldiers accused of wrongdoing.
It appears that some members of Congress are having a cow over the potential exposure of US troops to Iraqi justice.
Unfortunately, the Iraqis know that if there is no deal by the election, it will be even worse for the ‘Phants, and applied the old adage, “If you’ve got them by the balls, their hearts and minds will follow.”
McCain Staffer Lobbied for Saddam Hussein
I’m so not shocked.
John McCain is the most lobbyist tied presidential candidate ever.
Gates Says U.S. Forces Agreement in Iraq Near
The devil, as always, is in the details, and while I think that Gates and the DoD want to get out as quickly as is possible, Bush and His Evil Minions™ really do want to settle their successor with Iraq as a firm commitment.
The sticking points:
But they have differed over some issues such as granting immunity to U.S. soldiers for acts committed in Iraq, whether Washington has the right to detain Iraqi prisoners and on the future command of military operations on the ground.
Same old, same old.