LOGO: Truthdig: Drilling Beneath the Headlines. A Progressive Journal of News and Opinion. Editor, Robert Scheer. Publisher, Zuade Kaufman.
2010 Webby Award Winner for Best Political Blog
 
May 26, 2012
Log in / Register

 Choose a size
Text Size

Trending:     barack obama     gay marriage     chris hedges     ndaa     robert scheer
Most Read

TED: 'A Money-Soaked Orgy of Self-Congratulatory Futurism'

Truthdiggers of the Week: 400,000 Canadians Launching the ‘Maple Spring’

I Can't Hear Myself Think

Russia and Exxon Mobil Sign Arctic Oil Deal

A Rare Admission That Money Trumps Everything Else

Most Comments
Most Emailed

Reports
Why Bain Questions Matter
OSHA Struggles When Tower Climbers Die

Ear to the Ground

A/V Booth

Arts & Culture
Better Than We Found It
The Good-Natured Dictator

Digs
Financial Meltdown 101

Truthdig Bazaar more items

 
Ear to the Ground

Obama, Maliki Make It Official

Email this item Email    Print this item Print   

Posted on Dec 12, 2011
cbsnews.com

Iraqi President Nouri al-Maliki, left, and his American counterpart, Barack Obama, make a joint appearance Monday to discuss the upcoming U.S. troop withdrawal from Iraq.

While he had visiting Iraqi President Nouri al-Maliki close at hand, U.S. President Barack Obama took the opportunity Monday to make congratulatory noises from the podium about the end of the Iraq War and the imminent withdrawal of American troops from Maliki’s homeland. Obama also happened to point out that this constitutes the fulfillment of one of his campaign promises. But there’s more to the story than happy homecomings, clearly, and the U.S. presence in Iraq will carry on well past the withdrawal date.  —KA

“Political Hotsheet” on CBS News:

Obama and al-Maliki met Monday to discuss the strategic relationship between the countries, which Mr. Obama described as an “equal partnership based on mutual interest and mutual respect.” He described Iraq as “sovereign, self-reliant, and Democratic,” telling the Iraqi leader, “You have a strong, enduring partner in the United States of America.”

Despite the positive rhetoric from Mr. Obama, the U.S. troop withdrawal comes at a time when it is far from clear that Iraq will be able to maintain its security and a health political system - and with Iran seeking to expand its influence in Iraq and in the region as a whole. Both Iran and Iraq are majority Shiite, and there are ties between the two countries’ political establishments; it is not clear whether Iraq will become a safe haven for America’s enemies once the United States fully leaves the country.

Mr. Obama said Monday that “Iraq faces great challenges, but today reflects the impressive progress that Iraqis have made.” He said Iraqis are “working” to build “efficient and independent and transparent” institutions.

Read more

More Below the Ad

Advertisement


New and Improved Comments

We are launching a major overhaul of our comments section.

In addition to more robust spam filtering and moderation, new features include the ability to rate other comments, sort how they are displayed and respond directly via e-mail or in a thread.

Unfortunately, commenters will lose their existing Truthdig identities. It's a pain, we know, but on the plus side you will now be able to log in with a plethora of options, including Google, Twitter, Facebook and Disqus accounts.

Before launching this system we spent months in discussion with our top commenters. We listened to the feedback and we hope you like what we've come up with.

Please direct any problems or concerns to us via our contact page.

By Maani, December 13, 2011 at 10:39 am Link to this comment

Al-Maliki is currently positioning himself to be the next Mubarak of the Middle East.  Just watch.

Report this
thecrow's avatar

By thecrow, December 13, 2011 at 5:11 am Link to this comment

“Tonight I have a message for the brave and oppressed people of Iraq: Your enemy is not surrounding your country – your enemy is ruling your country. And the day he and his regime are removed from power will be the day of your liberation.”

- George W. Bush

January 28, 2003

http://michaelfury.wordpress.com/2011/03/04/enemies-list/

Report this
thecrow's avatar

By thecrow, December 13, 2011 at 5:00 am Link to this comment

“The worst for me though, the language that haunts me, is Obama’s portentous philosophical declaration that we shouldn’t seek accountability for the crimes of the Bush administration because we need to go into the future with our “core values” intact. Any school kid should know that a core value of democracy is accountability. You can’t pretend to live by the rule of law if only some people are held accountable, and the biggest crimes are too big to prosecute because they implicate the entire corrupt system.

Such a pronouncement makes me very sad. Sad for Obama that he presents such absurd cant as wisdom. Sad for a culture that accepts it. Because, besides what it means in terms of castrating democracy, it means that memory is cleansed of the truth. It means that teachers can’t teach that Bush and Cheney, Powell and Rice, Rumsfeld and Tenet and the rest of that pathetic gang committed war crimes and crimes against humanity. It means that the truth is a matter of opinion, a partisan either/or, one half of the fair & balanced equation. Which is which is never identified.”

- Robert Shetterly

http://michaelfury.wordpress.com/2010/02/08/a-naming-of-parts/

Report this
blogdog's avatar

By blogdog, December 13, 2011 at 12:16 am Link to this comment

in the Hall of Mirrors, one door closes, another opens: http://counterpsyops.com/

Interview of Nizar Nayouf: US Troops Deploying on Jordan-Syria Border

Hundreds of US-NATO Soldiers Arrive and Begin Operations on the Jordan-
Syria Border


[...]

Our Iraqi journalist source in London provided us with the following related
information:

“Some of the US forces that left the Ain al-Assad Air base in Iraq last Thursday,
did not come back to the USA or its base in Germany, but were transferred to
Jordan during the evening hours.”

The above information was further corroborated by our correspondent and
advisor Nizar Nayouf who interviewed an employee in the London-based office
of Royal Jordanian Airlines:

“At least one US aircraft carrying military personnel landed in the Prince Hassan
Air base located about 100 km to the east of the city of Al-Mafraq.”

Earlier last week, Jordanian news websites disclosed that “Western officials have
requested the King to allow establishing an electronic spy station in the north
of Jordan (near the Syrian border) in order to access the Syrian army and
contact Syrian high-rank officers for convincing them to make a military coup
or (at least) rebel against the regime”.

[...]

Report this
Robespierre115's avatar

By Robespierre115, December 12, 2011 at 5:52 pm Link to this comment

Americans will of course now go to sleep feeling good about themselves. And then when there’s an Iraqi Revolution against the Vatican-size embassy and the thousands-strong State Department mercenary force in the country, people will slam the Iraqis for being ungrateful, anti-American fanatics.

Report this
Newsletter

Get Truthdig in your inbox


 
 
 
Join the Liberal Blog Advertising Network
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

A Progressive Journal of News and Opinion. Editor, Robert Scheer. Publisher, Zuade Kaufman.
Copyright © 2012 Truthdig, L.L.C. All rights reserved.