U.S. seeking 58 bases in Iraq, Shiite lawmakers say

U.S. seeking 58 bases in Iraq, Shiite lawmakers say

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BAGHDAD -Iraqi lawmakers say the United States is demanding 58 bases as part of a proposed "status of forces" agreement that will allow U.S. troops to remain in the country indefinitely.

Leading members of the two ruling Shiite parties said in a series of interviews the Iraqi government rejected this proposal along with another U.S. demand that would have effectively handed over to the United States the power to determine if a hostile act from another country is aggression against Iraq. Lawmakers said they fear this power would drag Iraq into a war between the United States and Iran.

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Other conditions sought by the United States include control over Iraqi air space up to 30,000 feet and immunity from prosecution for U.S. troops and private military contractors. The agreement would run indefinitely but be subject to cancellation with two years notice from either side, lawmakers said.

As I've said before, the Iraq war was always more about bases than the oil. Oil may well turn out to be icing on the cake but the cake itself will be these bases. Forget the pander from the politicians about any possible withdrawal, it's nothing more than lip service. We are in this for the long haul and deep down everybody knows it.

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[edit on 10-6-2008 by SystemiK]

reply to post by SystemiK

"The points that were put forth by the Americans were more abominable than the occupation," said Jalal al Din al Saghir, a leading lawmaker from the Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq.

This is the problem with humans... Can we really trust al-Saghir's media blurp, or is he just trying to appease terror organizations so they stop trying to kill him??

Two months later he was the target of another suicide bomber from al-Qaeda in Iraq, who killed 13 people when he blew himself up in the mosque.wiki