Hey John, Iraq Wants Us Gone.

Iraq wants us to leave their country or set a time table to withdrawal. Prime Minister Maliki of Iraq had this to say, "The current trend is to reach an agreement on a memorandum of understanding either for the departure of the forces or a memorandum of understanding to put a time table on their withdrawal. In all cases the basis for any agreement with be respect for the full sovereignty of Iraq."

Then we have this recent statement from Iraqi National Security Adviser Nasar al-Rubaie, "There should not be any permanent bases in Iraq unless these bases are under Iraqi control. We would not accept any memorandum of understanding [the U.S.] side that has no obvious and specific dates for the foreign troops' withdrawal from Iraq."

TPJ: And chew on this one for a bit, during the 4/22/2004 Council on Foreign Relations CFR Chair Peter Peterson asked McCain, "What would or should we do if, in the post-June 30th period, a so called sovereign Iraqi government asks us to leave, even if we are unhappy about the security situation there? I understand it's a hypothetical but it's at least possible."

McCain:

Well, if that scenario evolves, then I think it's obvious that we would have to leave because--if it was an elected government (TPJ: Which it is) of Iraq--and we've been asked to leave other places in the world. If it were and extremist government, then I think we would have other challenges, (TPJ: And It's not an extremist government for the most part) but I don't see how we could stay when our whole emphasis and policy has been based on turning the Iraqi government over to the Iraqi people.

TPJ: And yet we all know full well that currently John McBush wants us to stay in Iraq decades or for 100 years with the eventual goal of turning Iraq into a place like South Korea, Germany and Japan where we are there with permanent bases. "If [the U.S. troop surge is] working, Senator, do you now have a better estimate of when American forces can come home from Iraq?" To that, McCain responded, "No, but that's not too important. What's important is the casualties in Iraq. Americans are in South Korea, Americans are in Japan, American troops are in Germany. That's all fine."

TPJ: It's a circle jerk coming from the Republicans because their policy is that when things are going bad we must stay and when things are going great we still have to stay. Huh? Such tortured logic. So John, doesn't staying after these above statements from top Iraqi leaders make us full blown occupiers? I say yes and actually I think we've been occupiers for some time over there.

Obama has the right plan to start bringing troops out immediately but be as careful and responsible leaving as we were careless and irresponsible as we invaded Iraq. Yet he's wise to reiterate that as the President he has the right and will reserve that right to adjust the troop withdrawal if need be. Now that's a responsible position. He's the candidate that listens to the Iraqis and respects their sovereignty and agrees with them that it's time we leave. Staying in Iraq despite the people wanting us to leave is disrespectful and arrogant that we know more than the Iraqis about their own country!!! It's exact same mentality that got us into this mess.

Meanwhile Afghanistan is heating up with a 60% increase in civilian violence. So our troops in Iraq are badly needed over there to increase our presence on the Pakistan border to aid in the defeat of al-Qaeda and the Taliban. John McCain doesn't get it that we're in the wrong place and they don't want us there any longer but Afghanistan DOES want us in their country and that is exactly where we should be.

So now we have the American public wanting us to leave, Barack Obama wants us to leave and now the Iraqis want us to leave. It's three against one John Boy.

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