Iraqi Gov't Does One Good Thing

The Iraqi government has done next to nothing in the first years of its feeble existence. Of course they just aren't unified on much of anything. Muqtada al-Sadr continues to waffle on his support of the parliament and that ever-so-important oil deal keeps being elusive to all the parties involved. One good thing that did happen today was the expulsion of Blackwater USA. The U.S. mercenary group is hereafter banned from any operations within the country. Hooray!

From The Huffington Post:

BAGHDAD — The Iraqi government said Monday that it was revoking the license of an American security firm accused of involvement in the deaths of eight civilians in a firefight that followed a car bomb explosion near a State Department motorcade.

The Interior Ministry said it would prosecute any foreign contractors found to have used excessive force in the Sunday shooting. It was the latest accusation against the U.S.-contracted firms that operate with little or no supervision and are widely disliked by Iraqis who resent their speeding motorcades and forceful behavior.

Underscoring the seriousness of the matter, the State Department said Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice planned to call Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki to express regret and assure him that the U.S. has launched an investigation into the matter to ensure nothing like it happens again.

This is serious for Rice because a continued U.S. presence does not solely rely on the regular Army. There are so many mercenary groups like Blackwater operating in Iraq that provide essential security services for those in the upper-echelon in the Pentagon and for elected officials. Not only that, but the contracts that the Pentagon doles out to them consists of serious money. The neo-cons are on a never-ending quest to drain our economy into a larger pit of debt, so this must be terrible news for them.

Enough about Condi and the neo-cons. This is fantastic news for Iraqis. No longer will they be terrorized by Blackwater's abusive and aggressive "employees." The locals fear and loathe them, so at least there will be a little more peace from now on, at least from the Americans.

Al-Maliki Aide: Nevermind

The Bush Administration must have been pretty pissed off to hear Nouri al-Maliki's comments on Saturday saying that U.S. troops could leave anytime they want to. That doesn't mesh with George's surge of death in Baghdad for our soldiers. He thinks he can win this way and no one is going to convince him otherwise, even the Prime Minister of Iraq. Check out the difference in tone between Saturday and today.

From The Huffington Post:

"We say in full confidence that we are able, God willing, to take the responsibility completely in running the security file if the international forces withdraw at any time they want," al-Maliki said.

Those comments appeared to undercut President Bush's contention that the 155,000 U.S. troops must remain in Iraq because the Iraqis are not capable of providing for their own security.

On Sunday, al-Maliki's adviser Yassin Majid told The Associated Press that the prime minister meant that efforts to bolster Iraq's security forces would continue "side-by-side with the withdrawal."

Majid urged the United States to continue building up Iraqi forces so they would be ready whenever the White House orders a troop withdrawal.

Although the comments are meant to connect each other, they mean entirely different things when it comes to geopolitics. Bush certainly has considerable influence in making "corrections" from the mouth of al-Maliki. Though the Prime Minister certainly didn't like doing it, hence his aide making the revision instead of himself.

The President needs at least a couple of stooges to make his delusions of winning in Iraq continue and al-Maliki is one of those unwilling Larry, Moe or Curlys.

Iraq Tells Us To Leave...Again

First it was the Iraqi parliament that overwhelmingly told the United States' forces to leave their country. Now Prime Minister al-Maliki is telling us again, please leave. Pretty please with cherries on top. They know the American occupation can do no good in Baghdad or anywhere within Iraq. So do the American people. The only stalwarts left are George Bush and his sycophants.

From Yahoo News:

BAGHDAD - Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki shrugged off U.S. doubts of his government's military and political progress on Saturday, saying Iraqi forces are capable and American troops can leave "any time they want."

One of his top aides, meanwhile, accused the United States of embarrassing the Iraqi government by violating human rights and treating his country like an "experiment in a U.S. lab."

Al-Maliki sought to display confidence at a time when pressure is mounting in Congress for a speedy withdrawal of U.S. forces. On Thursday, the House passed a measure calling for the U.S. to withdraw its troops by spring, hours after the White House reported mixed progress by the Iraqi government toward meeting 18 benchmarks.

Someone once said we would stand down when they stood up. Well Iraqis want to stand up...to the American occupation that is. They may want to kill each other as well, but they want us to leave and leave now. This news puts another huge hole in Bush's rationale to keep our country mired in a war we cannot win. Yet this is George Bush we are talking about and no one is going to make him leave Iraq, even the Iraqis themselves.