Deal U.S. In

Friends,
Bush is just now beginning to understand foreign policy. Giving the enemy a withdrawal date is treason. Or so it seemed when the Democrats wanted to set a timetable on withdrawal. Now "the shoot on sight" policy has now been reduced to listening and negotiations? Hmmmmm....I have heard about this negotiation thing from somewhere else. Who would be so bold and imaginative?
Now Bush needs to include Congress into this agreement, just as the Dems have wanted for so long.

Peace and Love,
Rev O

A Deal at Hand in Iraq Jim Hoagland, Washington Post

"U.S. and Iraqi negotiators are days away from agreeing on an "aspirational" date for withdrawing American combat troops from Iraq. Barack Obama and John McCain will find language in the accord to allow each to take credit on the campaign trail for shaping that outcome."

"About the same time, Bush reluctantly decided to allow U.S. negotiators to set specific timetables for withdrawing combat units from Iraq -- as Obama has demanded -- as long as they also obtained references to the withdrawals being based on battlefield conditions, as McCain and U.S. commanders want."

"The Iraqis' first draft mentioned 12 months, I am told, and then shifted to 16 months. That, intentionally or otherwise, coincided with Obama's plan, as Maliki indicated in public, and was therefore anathema to the administration."

"This path is fraught with the perils of misunderstanding and the potential of double-cross. And the Bush team has made it even more difficult by not including Congress in the shaping of the security agreements, as many Democrats have demanded."

"Bush waited far too long to get serious about giving Iraqis control over their country."

"Letting Congress get an early look and shoulder more responsibility for this accord is likely to be the smart thing, as well as the right thing, for Bush to do."


A Deal At Hand In Iraq Washington Post Op-Ed