One Utah

My favorite documentary about the occupation of Iraq is Charles Ferguson’s “No End In Sight.” It clearly lays out the mind-boggling ineptitude of the Bush administration’s attempt to govern a country they had little or no knowledge of, with predictably disastrous results.

After more than five and a half years of this fiasco, there is an end in sight. Here’s a link to the so-called Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA), which is really a security treaty (PDF): An agreement regarding the temporary U.S. presence in Iraq and its activities and withdrawal from Iraq, between the United States and the Iraqi government.

Check out Article Twenty-Five (page 14):

1- The U.S. forces shall withdraw from Iraqi territories no later than December 31st 2011.

2- U.S. combat forces will withdraw from all cities, towns, and villages as soon as the Iraqi forces take over the full security responsibility in them. The U.S. withdrawal from these areas shall take place no later than June 30th , 2009.

It’s a date certain for withdrawal and a date certain for the end of the occupation. As soon as the treaty goes into effect, the U.S. will have to cede control of the Green Zone. Also, there will be no permanent U.S. bases in Iraq. The final draft also allows for earlier withdrawal dates by mutual agreement, which is good because Iraqis want our troops gone.

Item: Tens of Thousands of Iraqis Protest U.S. Plan to Stay Until 2011

President Bush said this would never happen. Senator McCain said he planned on occupying Iraq for 100 years. They were wrong– again!!

UPDATE: I ought to note that this treaty is not yet approved by either the Iraqi parliament or the U.S. Senate. If it does not take effect before the end of the year, U.N. Security Council authority for the Iraq occupation expires and American forces will either have to cease operations and leave the country, or continue in violation of international law. The U.N. may grant a limited extension for purposes of facilitating a withdrawal of foreign forces from Iraq.

UPDATE: In a must-read article, Gareth Porter explains the Bush administration’s unbelievable incompetence displayed in the treaty negotiations:

The collapse of the Bush administration’s ambitious plan for a long-term US presence in Iraq highlights the degree of unreality that has prevailed among top US officials in both Washington and Baghdad on Iraqi politics. They continued to see the Maliki regime as a client which would cooperate with US aims even after it was clear that Maliki’s agenda was sharply at odds with that of the United States.

Previous One Utah posts:
Bush Sets Iraq ‘Surrender Date’: December 31, 2011 (October 15)
Bush Administration to Iraq: No Withdrawal Timetable for You! (October 7)
Iraq Withdrawal: Reading the Fine Print (August 11)
Iraq Withdrawal: They Were Against It Before They Were For It (July 30)
Bye-Bye Green Zone (July 14)
The Iraq Endgame Takes Shape (June 18)
‘More abominable than the occupation’ (June 10)
Revealed: Secret plan to keep Iraq under permanent US occupation (June 5)
Iraq Index and an Update on the Permanent Occupation Treaty (May 31)

This entry was posted Thursday, October 23rd, 2008 at 3:11 pm and is filed under Bush Administration, Disaster, Iraq, John McCain, National Politics, This Blog, War. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.