Posted by Tina
Mostly the media has gone silent on war news but you still need and deserve to know whats going on:
A Partnership With Iraq Washington Post
THOUGH IT was hardly noticed in Washington, Iraq’s Shiite-led government sent a powerful message to Iran and to the Middle East last week. Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, whose coalition is often portrayed as an Iranian client, traveled to Tehran for a meeting with supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The ayatollah bluntly declared that Iraq’s “most important problem” was the continuing presence of U.S. troops. He pressured Mr. Maliki to stop negotiating a package of agreements with the Bush administration that would delineate a “strategic framework” between Iraq and the United States and provide for the deployment of U.S. forces beyond the expiration of a U.N. mandate at the end of this year. ** Mr. Maliki refused. He assured his Iranian hosts that Iraq would not be a launching pad for an American attack on Iran. But he pointedly told a press briefing that negotiations on the strategic partnership would continue. He repeated that commitment on Friday, even after warning that the talks had “reached a dead end.” In effect, the Iraqi prime minister was saying that his country does not want to become an Iranian satellite but an independent Arab state that would look to the United States to ensure its security. ** If the United States were to make a formal commitment to defend Iraq from external aggression, congressional consideration and approval of the pact would be appropriate. For now, the biggest risk is that Tehran and its allies will pressure Mr. Maliki into backing away from a partnership with Washington. In that case, Iran would hasten to substitute itself as Iraq’s defender and strategic ally, with momentous implications for the rest of the Middle East. Surely this is not what the Democrats want.
Oh really? Quickname the colorfully radical leaders in the world that progressive democrats often defend and shower with adorationin many cases in lieu of support for American soldiers and Republican leadership. I wouldn’t put anything past them…but I digress.
Democrats have argued that we have failed in Iraq in part because the government of Iraq has not been able to meet it’s obligations. But democrats are inconsistent in their demands from other conflicts and other new democracies. Do you recall that little conflict under Bill Clinton the pet project of Madeline Albright?
Little change as Kosovo gets new constitution, by Fatos Bytyci – Reuters
Kosovo’s first constitution as an independent state came into force on Sunday, giving ethnic Albanians the right to executive powers held by the United Nations mission that has run the territory since 1999. ** But despite the document, the United Nations has not formally handed over its authority. ** Kosovo is likely to remain under a patchwork of international oversight for several years. Its rule is also challenged by the Serb minority backed by Belgrade. ** Serbia lost control of Kosovo in June 1999 when NATO bombs drove out Serb forces to halt killing and ethnic cleansing of Albanians in a two-year counter-insurgency war. ** The two communities — some two million Albanians and 120,000 Serbs — have since lived separately, deeply suspicious and occasionally hostile to each other.
The American Military remains on duty. There have been zero calls from democrats for their immediate withdrawal. Their have been zero charges of failure or a flawed plan and not one negative syllable has been uttered about the continuing problems…a two year counter insurgency for instance.
The news from Iraq is good news. Our relationship with Iraq is vital to America and will continue no matter which candidate becomes our president. Could the hopes for an Obama win be the only reason democrats have suddenly gone silent on Iraq? You decide…and vote wisely in November.