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War, War, War See other War, War, War Articles Title: Washington’s Silence on Iraq We treat Iraq like a spurned ex-lover Almost five years ago, President Bush sat grasping the hand of Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki, flashbulbs from an army of photographers illuminating their smiling, faintly strained faces. As we know now, the agreement they had just signed and were shaking upon turned out to be a very public parting of ways. For Washington, which wanted to keep troops in the country, but was spurned by Maliki and an Iraqi parliament that preferred to go it alone rather than give the US military continued legal immunity, breaking up has been quite easy to do. In the indomitable words of rapper Gang Starr, "you’re my ex-girl cuz I’m on with the next girl," and Iraq is being treated thusly. President Bush and Prime Minister Maliki signing the Strategic Framework and Security Agreement 2008 President Bush and Prime Minister Maliki signing the Strategic Framework and Security Agreement 2008 Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai, best be paying attention. He stands on the cusp of a similar agreement with the United States over the status of its forces there after 2014. Again, the issue of immunity is at hand, and rather than decide it himself, he has put the question to a loya jirga, a grand council of the country’s elders, before signing the pact. Things are pretty bad already, but observers fear a worse implosion of Afghanistan’s security situation if the Americans abruptly pull up stakes and leave altogether. Already, the American people could care less – they’re one foot out the door. They have written Afghanistan off – just as they did with Iraq – as a mistake. So if what’s happening in Iraq is any indication of times to come, a bitter divorce, felt mostly by the neediest of Afghans, is inevitable. Twice Bitten Violence has escalated in Iraq at a rate not seen since 2008 when the final Strategic Framework and Security Agreement between Bush and Maliki was signed. Nearly 6,000 Iraqis were killed since the beginning of the year, 490 in October, as of Sunday. Sectarian violence on both sides is washing over Iraqi towns and cities like an epidemic, including the North, where Kurdistan had once been known as the safest place in Iraq. Washington, which for years claimed the invasion, in part, was to foster a democratic ally in the region, has been curiously silent on why this is happening and what it means for Iraq, with much of the mainstream news following suit. Some might call it "moving on," or "closure." Others may call it desertion. One need go no further than the Oct. 9 State Department press briefing, a regular affair in which the designated spokesperson fields questions as if hitting (or missing) one pitch after another in a batting cage. At one point, an international reporter attempts to throw a curve ball to spokeswoman Marie Harf on a country Foggy Bottom has already torn out of its Little Black Book: Post Comment Private Reply Ignore Thread Top • Page Up • Full Thread • Page Down • Bottom/Latest
#1. To: Ada (#0)
Washington is silent on Iraq because Israel is perfectly happy with the turmoil happening there.
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