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| Iraq | |
| U.S. troops' pullout mere elections pledges-Sistani's mouthpiece | |
| 2008-06-16 | |
| Karbala, June13, (VOI)-A representative of top Shiite cleric Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani on Friday called Iraqi officials to show patience during the U.S.-Iraq long-term deal negotiations, terming pledges of withdrawing foreign troops from Iraq as transitory and elections-oriented. "The pledges to withdraw from Iraq given by (officials) from occupation forces countries are only for elections sake ", Ahmed al-Safi, a representative of Shiite cleric Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani, said at Friday prayer speech in Karbala. The cleric noted "the reality of their pledges is that they desire their troops to stay in (Iraq)". He pointed out "it accounted for their desire to draft an agreement to keep the presence of the troops in Iraq".
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| Posted by:Steve White |
| #1 well the Grand Ayatollah, learned as he is in the Sharia, and responsible as he SOMETIMES has been in supporting elections and opposing AQ, is missing some things 1. The continued real strain on the US Army of the current deployment levels (real even if not as severe as some in the MSM imply) 2. The continued concerns in the US about the financial costs of the deployment in Iraq 3. Pressure to get more US troops to Afghanistan These pressure will impact EITHER McCain or Obama. Doesnt mean they will leave helter skelter, but it means it will be hard to avoid significant withdrawls fairly soon. As for Powers statement, well shes actually relatively pragmatic among Obamas advisors, compared to Malley say. And they are ALL more pragmatic than major elements of Obama's political base, which even as President he will be concerned not to alienate. So while he may not be committed to a 16 month total withdrawl, he will not only be subject to the same pressures as McCain, but probably additional pressures to withdraw as well. |
| Posted by: liberalhawk 2008-06-16 09:14 |