The draft agreement sets 2011 as the date by which all remaining U.S. troops will leave Iraq, according to Iraqi Deputy Foreign Minister Mohammed al-Haj Humood and other people familiar with the matter.
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President George W. Bush is almost certain to accept the agreement, according to U.S. officials.
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The security deal came together after the Bush administration made concessions on several long-held positions. The White House softened its stance over a pullout date after it became clear that Mr. Maliki was adamant that the agreement contain at least a vague timetable for a U.S. withdrawal.
Kevin Drum highlights the possible political fallout. Should be intersting to see what happens... but withdrawal has been the reality since Obama went to Iraq, and McCain has been indicating that his talking point will be that this withdrawal plan is great because it acknowledges the "realities on the ground", but Obama's prescient plan is bad-no-good surrender monkey stuff because he was "playing politics" and got lucky because of the Awesomeness of The Surge. I don't think that really makes any sense, but I imagine he's going to keep on saying it. Also note that, from the article, the Iraqi Parliament has to ratify the agreement and they're not currently in session... so who knows when it becomes "official"?
To be honest, I'm not sure this helps Obama as much as Kevin thinks it does... yeah he was right, but McCain can still crow about the surge, and can talk about leaving with honor... and now there isn't much daylight between them in regards to ending the war. I don't think that's a good thing... it was much better when McCain was talking 100 years and Obama was talking withdrawal. However, it may not matter much as the economy seems a bigger issue right now. We shall see.
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