 6/10 Very Good --- nymag.com http://feedproxy.google.com/nymag/intel
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Wednesday, July 23, 2008 --- 134 days ago http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/nymag/intel/~3/1hU9sMfkLSE/behind_malikis_move_ag
 Photo: Getty Images As Barack Obama makes his way from the Middle East to Europe this week, both campaigns are still buzzing about the boost he got in Iraq, where prime minister Nouri al-Maliki endorsed withdrawing American troops from that country by the end of 2010. So far, the national media has focused on Maliki’s comments mainly by asking what impact they will have on the U.S. presidential race. Well, as one Republican strategist told The Atlantic ’s Marc Ambinder, “We’re fucked.” So here’s a more interesting political question: What is Maliki really doing? The prime minister of Iraq didn’t have to take sides in the American presidential campaign, after all. Maliki, in short, is trying to seize the upper hand in negotiations with the U.S. that have almost completely escaped the notice of the American press but have been going on since last November. That’s when George W. Bush, riding the initial success of the surge and with less than a year to go before the 2008 election, began pressing Maliki to agree to an extensive series of long-term demands. The Bush administration reportedly wants the permanent right to keep troops and military bases in Iraq; to control Iraqi airspace, below 29,000 feet; to pursue the war on terror inside Iraq, arresting or detaining Iraqis whenever American officials deem it necessary; and to shield American military personnel and contractors from Iraqi law. And the administration threatened Maliki w ... |
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Anytime
