Deal would have U.S. troops out of Iraq by 2012 Story Highlights Deal still must be approved by both sides, lead Iraqi negotiator says Condoleezza Rice's talks with Iraqi prime minister helped push deal, negotiator says Plan calls for U.S. troops to move outside cities, towns by June 30, 2009 BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- U.S. and Iraqi negotiators have reached agreement on a proposal calling for a complete U.S. military withdrawal from Iraq by 2012, the head Iraqi negotiator said Friday. The deal still must be approved by both sides, said Mohammed al-Haj Hamoud, deputy foreign minister and head of the Iraqi negotiating team. Hamoud said Thursday's meeting between U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki was helpful in reaching the tentative agreement. Hamoud said the proposal also says the last date for the presence of U.S. troops in cities and towns will be June 30, 2009. There are clear caveats, however. If the Iraqi government sees the necessity of keeping the American forces in cities and towns or in Iraq past December 31, 2011, it would ask that the Americans stay. A joint Iraqi-U.S. committee would help define the duration and number of forces that would be needed and regularly assess the security situation on the ground. Regarding the issue of troop immunity from Iraqi law and American authority over military operations, American authorities would have jurisdiction over their troops. Hamoud also said that in case of a major crime such as murder, the case would be reviewed by a U.S.-Iraqi joint committee. The proposal calls for the lifting of immunity for private contractors, who would be subject to Iraqi laws. As for detainee authority, any kind of detention must be ordered by a judge under Iraqi law. Detainees must be delivered to Iraqi authorities within 24 hours of their arrests by both Iraqi and American forces. This would go into effect January 1, when the U.N. mandate outlining the presence of U.S.-led coalition troops expires. Asked to comment on Friday on these remarks, a U.S. Embassy spokeswoman said Rice noted progress toward hammering out a pact. After Rice met with al-Maliki, she and Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari briefed reporters. Zebari said both sides were "very close" to finalizing the agreement. Rice said that what had been formulated up to that point was a "very good agreement." She said that the "ultimate goal is to have Iraqi forces responsible for the security of Iraq" and that they agreed to "some goals, some aspirational timetables" for troop withdrawals would be worth for having. "What we're trying to do is to put together an agreement that protects our people, that respects Iraqi sovereignty, that allows us to lay the kind of foundation that we need for making certain that we complete the work that we've all sacrificed so greatly to see accomplished, and that work is being accomplished," she said. CNN's Arwa Damon, Mohammed Tawfeeq and Pierre Bairin contributed to this report.
They shouldn't leave the Middle East, especially with seeing how Russia wants to control that region and its oil. Stay there in case you need troops for a war.
The surge is actually over. It did work, clearly. Some people claimed we needed more soldiers in Iraq all along - like McCain, and at one point many democrats. Many more troops aren't needed because the Iraqi army is finally standing on its own and then some. On the other hand, you have people saying that we should have taken the troops out after the rebuilding mission was started - like Obama. Looks like both candidates were wrong, and that finding the right General and listening to his advice worked.
It might have been the best thing to do for Iraq, but it is hurting us at home, and I would have preferred to have an unstable Iraq without the hit to the economy and loss of American lives.
http://www.bartleby.com/124/pres56.html <table align="center" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="3"><tbody><tr><td valign="top"><center>John F. Kennedy Inaugural Address Friday, January 20, 1961</center> <hr size="2" noshade="noshade"> <hr size="1" noshade="noshade"> Heavy snow fell the night before the inauguration, but thoughts about cancelling the plans were overruled. The election of 1960 had been close, and the Democratic Senator from Massachusetts was eager to gather support for his agenda. He attended Holy Trinity Catholic Church in Georgetown that morning before joining President Eisenhower to travel to the Capitol. The Congress had extended the East Front, and the inaugural platform spanned the new addition. The oath of office was administered by Chief Justice Earl Warren. Robert Frost read one of his poems at the ceremony. <hr size="1" noshade="noshade"><hr size="2" noshade="noshade"></td><td valign="top" align="right"></td></tr></tbody></table> <table align="center" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="3"><tbody><tr><td> Vice President Johnson, Mr. Speaker, Mr. Chief Justice, President Eisenhower, Vice President Nixon, President Truman, reverend clergy, fellow citizens, we observe today not a victory of party, but a celebration of freedom—symbolizing an end, as well as a beginning—signifying renewal, as well as change. For I have sworn before you and Almighty God the same solemn oath our forebears prescribed nearly a century and three quarters ago.</td><td valign="top" align="right">[SIZE=-2] 1[/SIZE]</td></tr> <tr><td> The world is very different now. For man holds in his mortal hands the power to abolish all forms of human poverty and all forms of human life. And yet the same revolutionary beliefs for which our forebears fought are still at issue around the globe—the belief that the rights of man come not from the generosity of the state, but from the hand of God.</td><td valign="top" align="right">[SIZE=-2]2[/SIZE]</td></tr> <tr><td> We dare not forget today that we are the heirs of that first revolution. Let the word go forth from this time and place, to friend and foe alike, that the torch has been passed to a new generation of Americans—born in this century, tempered by war, disciplined by a hard and bitter peace, proud of our ancient heritage—and unwilling to witness or permit the slow undoing of those human rights to which this Nation has always been committed, and to which we are committed today at home and around the world.</td><td valign="top" align="right">[SIZE=-2]3[/SIZE]</td></tr> <tr><td> Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe, in order to assure the survival and the success of liberty.</td><td valign="top" align="right">[SIZE=-2]4[/SIZE]</td></tr> <tr><td> This much we pledge—and more.</td><td valign="top" align="right">[SIZE=-2]5[/SIZE]</td></tr> <tr><td> To those old allies whose cultural and spiritual origins we share, we pledge the loyalty of faithful friends. United, there is little we cannot do in a host of cooperative ventures. Divided, there is little we can do—for we dare not meet a powerful challenge at odds and split asunder.</td><td valign="top" align="right">[SIZE=-2]6[/SIZE]</td></tr> <tr><td> To those new States whom we welcome to the ranks of the free, we pledge our word that one form of colonial control shall not have passed away merely to be replaced by a far more iron tyranny. We shall not always expect to find them supporting our view. But we shall always hope to find them strongly supporting their own freedom—and to remember that, in the past, those who foolishly sought power by riding the back of the tiger ended up inside.</td><td valign="top" align="right">[SIZE=-2]7[/SIZE]</td></tr> <tr><td> To those peoples in the huts and villages across the globe struggling to break the bonds of mass misery, we pledge our best efforts to help them help themselves, for whatever period is required—not because the Communists may be doing it, not because we seek their votes, but because it is right. If a free society cannot help the many who are poor, it cannot save the few who are rich.</td><td valign="top" align="right">[SIZE=-2]8[/SIZE]</td></tr> <tr><td> To our sister republics south of our border, we offer a special pledge—to convert our good words into good deeds—in a new alliance for progress—to assist free men and free governments in casting off the chains of poverty. But this peaceful revolution of hope cannot become the prey of hostile powers. Let all our neighbors know that we shall join with them to oppose aggression or subversion anywhere in the Americas. And let every other power know that this Hemisphere intends to remain the master of its own house.</td><td valign="top" align="right">[SIZE=-2]9[/SIZE]</td></tr> <tr><td> To that world assembly of sovereign states, the United Nations, our last best hope in an age where the instruments of war have far outpaced the instruments of peace, we renew our pledge of support—to prevent it from becoming merely a forum for invective—to strengthen its shield of the new and the weak—and to enlarge the area in which its writ may run.</td><td valign="top" align="right">[SIZE=-2]10[/SIZE]</td></tr> <tr><td> Finally, to those nations who would make themselves our adversary, we offer not a pledge but a request: that both sides begin anew the quest for peace, before the dark powers of destruction unleashed by science engulf all humanity in planned or accidental self-destruction.</td><td valign="top" align="right">[SIZE=-2]11[/SIZE]</td></tr> <tr><td> We dare not tempt them with weakness. For only when our arms are sufficient beyond doubt can we be certain beyond doubt that they will never be employed.</td><td valign="top" align="right">[SIZE=-2]12[/SIZE]</td></tr> <tr><td> But neither can two great and powerful groups of nations take comfort from our present course—both sides overburdened by the cost of modern weapons, both rightly alarmed by the steady spread of the deadly atom, yet both racing to alter that uncertain balance of terror that stays the hand of mankind's final war.</td><td valign="top" align="right">[SIZE=-2]13[/SIZE]</td></tr> <tr><td> So let us begin anew—remembering on both sides that civility is not a sign of weakness, and sincerity is always subject to proof. Let us never negotiate out of fear. But let us never fear to negotiate.</td><td valign="top" align="right">[SIZE=-2]14[/SIZE]</td></tr> <tr><td> Let both sides explore what problems unite us instead of belaboring those problems which divide us.</td><td valign="top" align="right">[SIZE=-2]15[/SIZE]</td></tr> <tr><td> Let both sides, for the first time, formulate serious and precise proposals for the inspection and control of arms—and bring the absolute power to destroy other nations under the absolute control of all nations.</td><td valign="top" align="right">[SIZE=-2]16[/SIZE]</td></tr> <tr><td> Let both sides seek to invoke the wonders of science instead of its terrors. Together let us explore the stars, conquer the deserts, eradicate disease, tap the ocean depths, and encourage the arts and commerce.</td><td valign="top" align="right">[SIZE=-2]17[/SIZE]</td></tr> <tr><td> Let both sides unite to heed in all corners of the earth the command of Isaiah—to "undo the heavy burdens ... and to let the oppressed go free."</td><td valign="top" align="right">[SIZE=-2]18[/SIZE]</td></tr> <tr><td> And if a beachhead of cooperation may push back the jungle of suspicion, let both sides join in creating a new endeavor, not a new balance of power, but a new world of law, where the strong are just and the weak secure and the peace preserved.</td><td valign="top" align="right">[SIZE=-2]19[/SIZE]</td></tr> <tr><td> All this will not be finished in the first 100 days. Nor will it be finished in the first 1,000 days, nor in the life of this Administration, nor even perhaps in our lifetime on this planet. But let us begin.</td><td valign="top" align="right">[SIZE=-2]20[/SIZE]</td></tr> <tr><td> In your hands, my fellow citizens, more than in mine, will rest the final success or failure of our course. Since this country was founded, each generation of Americans has been summoned to give testimony to its national loyalty. The graves of young Americans who answered the call to service surround the globe.</td><td valign="top" align="right">[SIZE=-2]21[/SIZE]</td></tr> <tr><td> Now the trumpet summons us again—not as a call to bear arms, though arms we need; not as a call to battle, though embattled we are—but a call to bear the burden of a long twilight struggle, year in and year out, "rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation"—a struggle against the common enemies of man: tyranny, poverty, disease, and war itself.</td><td valign="top" align="right">[SIZE=-2]22[/SIZE]</td></tr> <tr><td> Can we forge against these enemies a grand and global alliance, North and South, East and West, that can assure a more fruitful life for all mankind? Will you join in that historic effort?</td><td valign="top" align="right">[SIZE=-2]23[/SIZE]</td></tr> <tr><td> In the long history of the world, only a few generations have been granted the role of defending freedom in its hour of maximum danger. I do not shrink from this responsibility—I welcome it. I do not believe that any of us would exchange places with any other people or any other generation. The energy, the faith, the devotion which we bring to this endeavor will light our country and all who serve it—and the glow from that fire can truly light the world.</td><td valign="top" align="right">[SIZE=-2]24[/SIZE]</td></tr> <tr><td> And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you—ask what you can do for your country.</td><td valign="top" align="right">[SIZE=-2]25[/SIZE]</td></tr> <tr><td> My fellow citizens of the world: ask not what America will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man.</td><td valign="top" align="right">[SIZE=-2]26[/SIZE]</td></tr> <tr><td> Finally, whether you are citizens of America or citizens of the world, ask of us the same high standards of strength and sacrifice which we ask of you. With a good conscience our only sure reward, with history the final judge of our deeds, let us go forth to lead the land we love, asking His blessing and His help, but knowing that here on earth God's work must truly be our own.</td></tr></tbody></table>
Yeah I should point out that when I said the surge didn't work in my second post that I was being sarcastic.
I was pointing out that the extra troops that made up the surge have all come home - the surge is over.
I don't like to generalize too much, but I think the removal of Donald Rumsfeld and the appointment of Robert Gates has had more to do with the "turnaround" in the Iraq situation than anything else. Since Gates took over as secretary of defense, he has been cleaning house and seen more progress on the ground than anything Rumsfeld had been trying. I think Rumsfeld actually did more harm than good. Yes, we have a great General working Iraq. I would expect that to be the case no matter what theatre we are in.
