Friday
Nov212008
Iraq Surge Success Story of the Day
Friday, November 21, 2008 at 16:20
Michael Gerson (speechwriter to President Bush, 2001-2005) in the Washington Post:
A war that once seemed likely to end in a panic of helicopters fleeing the American Embassy now seems destined to conclude as the result of a parliamentary process. A landmark status-of-forces agreement (SOFA) -- requiring the withdrawal of U.S. combat troops from Iraqi cities by the end of June and from Iraq itself by the end of 2011 -- is headed for a final reading in the Iraqi parliament next week.
From the New York Times:
A session of Iraq’s Parliament collapsed in chaos on Wednesday, as a discussion among lawmakers about a three-year security agreement with the Americans boiled over into shouting and physical confrontation....
“There is much tension inside the Parliament,” said Iman al-Asadi, a Shiite lawmaker, shortly before the session was scheduled to start. “We worry that they will fight each other inside the room.”....
In Washington, the Bush administration sent Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates to Capitol Hill to brief lawmakers on the agreement. They did so behind closed doors, and the administration has not released a copy of the agreement, which has been published in Iraqi newspapers. Officials have repeatedly declined to discuss its terms in detail.
A war that once seemed likely to end in a panic of helicopters fleeing the American Embassy now seems destined to conclude as the result of a parliamentary process. A landmark status-of-forces agreement (SOFA) -- requiring the withdrawal of U.S. combat troops from Iraqi cities by the end of June and from Iraq itself by the end of 2011 -- is headed for a final reading in the Iraqi parliament next week.
From the New York Times:
A session of Iraq’s Parliament collapsed in chaos on Wednesday, as a discussion among lawmakers about a three-year security agreement with the Americans boiled over into shouting and physical confrontation....
“There is much tension inside the Parliament,” said Iman al-Asadi, a Shiite lawmaker, shortly before the session was scheduled to start. “We worry that they will fight each other inside the room.”....
In Washington, the Bush administration sent Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates to Capitol Hill to brief lawmakers on the agreement. They did so behind closed doors, and the administration has not released a copy of the agreement, which has been published in Iraqi newspapers. Officials have repeatedly declined to discuss its terms in detail.
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