Asia Times Article - Iraq turning towards Iran

[Stoneburner]

http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/JF17Ak04.html

This should come as a surprise to nobody. We saw a few months ago that Iran's PM could calmly enter areas of iraq where Bush could not. We saw Iran help broker the ceasefire with the sadrists. This quote is particularly troubling.

The Americans tell him to sign a long-term agreement between with the US, maintaining 50 permanent American military bases in Iraq. The Iranians angrily order him not to, claiming this would be a direct security threat to the region as a whole, and Iran in particular. The Americans reportedly are pressing to finalize the deal by July 30, 2008, upset that no progress has been made since talks started in February. Iran has carried out a massive public relations campaign against the deal, calling on all Shi'ites in Iraq to drown it.

I wonder what the odds are that it WON'T be turned down?

 

[dahunan]

Hilarious... really

Sad that our brave troops are led by maniacs like bush and cheney and PNAC

What is hilarious? We once provided both sides with weapons to continually murder each other with and sat back and laughed... NOWWWWW.... they just might unite against us

 

[Fern]

I'll withhold judgement as I'm reading/hearing things much differently.

Looks to me like *spin* from a Syrian analyst.

IMO, there's been more concrete evidence of Mailiki standing up to Iran, not the other way around. This guy makes him sound like an Iranian puppet.

Fern

 

[Stoneburner]

Originally posted by: Fern
I'll withhold judgement as I'm reading/hearing things much differently.

Looks to me like *spin* from a Syrian analyst.

IMO, there's been more concrete evidence of Mailiki standing up to Iran, not the other way around. This guy makes him sound like an Iranian puppet.

Fern

All evidence I've seen indicates he's closer to iranian puppet then he is to american puppet. And he's closer to an american puppet than he is to a credible independent national leader.

 

[EagleKeeper]

Originally posted by: Fern
I'll withhold judgement as I'm reading/hearing things much differently.

Looks to me like *spin* from a Syrian analyst.

IMO, there's been more concrete evidence of Mailiki standing up to Iran, not the other way around. This guy makes him sound like an Iranian puppet.

Fern

And Syria is an Iranian puppet.

Iran may be able to obtain more credability when using Syria as a mouthpiece.

 

[Zebo]

No surprise here I stated as much over three years ago. This is all caused by the ignorance of our elite of the nature of Islam and why democracy in the Hobbes, Locke, Lewis and Rousseau's sense will never work over there. When true elections are held in the Muslim world guys like Osama bin Forgotten will win every one of them.

 

[Fern]

Originally posted by: Stoneburner
All evidence I've seen indicates he's closer to iranian puppet then he is to american puppet. And he's closer to an american puppet than he is to a credible independent national leader.

Maliki has recently moved against/attacked Iranian backed militia in Basra and other places. Same with al Sadr who is backed by Iran.

Doesn't sound like an Iranian puppet to me.

Fern

 

[palehorse]

preconceptions are the mother of all analytical fuck-ups.

 

[Stoneburner]

Originally posted by: Fern

Originally posted by: Stoneburner
All evidence I've seen indicates he's closer to iranian puppet then he is to american puppet. And he's closer to an american puppet than he is to a credible independent national leader.

Maliki has recently moved against/attacked Iranian backed militia in Basra and other places. Same with al Sadr who is backed by Iran.

Doesn't sound like an Iranian puppet to me.

Fern

We'll see. Those same militia's had to a large extent run amok. Iran was instrumental in the sadr ceasefire.

The one thing that I have heard repeatedly from pentagon people is that the U.S. cannot maintain troop levels much beyond December of this year. I have a feeling there is a wait and see game being played.


Palehorse: no need to pile on the neocons

 

[palehorse]

Originally posted by: Stoneburner
Palehorse: no need to pile on the neocons

easy there hippy, I'm no neocon...

I was simply injecting an important point to remember... to remind myself as much as anyone.

 

[Lemon law]

We must all realize that GWB is a short term lame duck who on all fronts is seeking to make his policies permanent. On the domestic front he asks our congress to make his tax cuts permanent, on the international front he struts on the world stage like he still matters while many nations are simply now conducting their diplomacy without him, and Iraq he is desperate to get the 50 US bases his optional and stupid war was supposed to earn by right of conquest.

And up to and until 1/19/2009, GWB&co will be a clear and ever present danger, and the next day he shall become as irrelevant as ancient history. And this nation and a larger world ways say good riddance to bad rubbish. As for his recent efforts to make his policies permanent, I very much doubt it and rather than directly confronting GWB&co, the correct strategy will be a full court stall until 1/20/2009.

 

[Stoneburner]

Originally posted by: Lemon law
We must all realize that GWB is a short term lame duck who on all fronts is seeking to make his policies permanent. On the domestic front he asks our congress to make his tax cuts permanent, on the international front he struts on the world stage like he still matters while many nations are simply now conducting their diplomacy without him, and Iraq he is desperate to get the 50 US bases his optional and stupid war was supposed to earn by right of conquest.

And up to and until 1/19/2009, GWB&co will be a clear and ever present danger, and the next day he shall become as irrelevant as ancient history. And this nation and a larger world ways say good riddance to bad rubbish. As for his recent efforts to make his policies permanent, I very much doubt it and rather than directly confronting GWB&co, the correct strategy will be a full court stall until 1/20/2009.

Ehhh.... I don't see anybody short of an American Bismark who can correct the colossal fuck up known as Iraq. Sure, it'll be nice to know he wont be ready to start more self immolating wars, but in reality he does not have the resources to do it regardless.

We need to have a simple idea of what we want from the middle east and how to get it. If we wanted to contain Iran.... we'll have to wait until a new generation comes to power there.

 

[Aimster]

I don't think Iraq is going to listen to Iran

The people who run Iraq are probably stealing millions. The U.S simply has to tell them "we are going to investigate" and that alone will make them our bitches

 

[Lemon law]

Originally posted by: Aimster
I don't think Iraq is going to listen to Iran

The people who run Iraq are probably stealing millions. The U.S simply has to tell them "we are going to investigate" and that alone will make them our bitches

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Aimster, you are right in one way and totally wrong in another way, GWB&co is not going to investigate Iraqi pilfering, because while Iraqi officials are pilfering many millions, GWB&co has been pilfering and mismanaging many many billions long before we put the first boot on Iraqi soil. And any Iraqi investigation will just end up shining the spot light on GWB&co.

And if McCain is elected, he will similarly do nothing, but maybe a President Obama will if he has any time left over in trying to get an new Iraqi policy off the ground. But unless Obama wants to totally discredit all of the in place Iraqi leadership, investigating their corruption can only result in total resultant anarchy. After all, its hard to work with an Iraqi government that has been jailed for corruption.