Iraq, the sovereign colony?

[unhappycamper]

Iraq, the sovereign colony?
June 15, 2008

PRESIDENT BUSH has been treating Iraq less as an ally than a vassal. He has been pushing Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki to accept two long-term agreements that would, as many Iraqis rightly object, compromise Iraq's sovereignty and independence.

Bush and Maliki agreed in November on principles for a "status of forces agreement," which will be needed as a legal basis for American troops to remain in Iraq after the United Nations' mandate for them expires Dec. 31. The agreement would set rules for US forces in Iraq. Since March, Iraqis and Americans have also been negotiating a "strategic framework agreement" to define more broadly the long-term political and diplomatic relations between the two countries.

The two agreements have been reopened for negotiation. Though Bush speaks of Iraq as a free, democratic ally, the original versions gave the United States privileges in Iraq more suitable to the relationship between a colonial power and its protectorate.

The contents of the agreements were not cast in the form of a treaty because a treaty would have to be ratified by the US Senate. Bush plainly does not want senators asking troublesome questions about the implications of an open-ended Iraqi approval for 58 American military bases on Iraqi soil.

Five of the 58 are sprawling megabases that replicate the amenities of an American town. Balad Air Base, north of Baghdad, has air traffic comparable to Chicago's O'Hare Airport. No wonder some Iraqis see these bases as proof that Bush invaded Iraq to gain control of its vast oil reserves and to establish a new permanent military presence in the heart of the Middle East.


Rest of article at: http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/editorial_opinion/editorials/articles/2008/06/15/iraq_the_sovereign_colony/



uhc comment: The Boston Globe is a fully owned subsidiary of the New York Times. Looks like the media is finally catching onto the reality on the ground.

[tabasco]

1. The 51st StateColony of America.

The trillion dollars wasted on Cheney's oil war could have done much to help the people of this country.

All of those responsible for the unjustified Iraq war should be held accountable.

[CanonRay]

2. Imagine if the British had offered a peace settlement

and only wanted to keep 50 bases in America, and have free movement of their troops, and have their troops not subjected to American laws. I'm sure Washington, Madison, Hamilton et al would have just love that.