[Marxism] Claim Obama secretly nixed US troop cuts in Iraq is right wing scame

["Fred Feldman" <ffeldman@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Obama smeared by Taheri on Iraq Troop Withdrawals; 
Journalist Notorious for False Story on Iranian Jews; 
Odierno Warns Iraq still Unstable 

Amir Taheri, the rightwing Iranian 'journalist' who is the least accurate
reporter to feign practicing journalism since Gutenberg invented movable
metal type accused Barack Obama of seeking "a deal to delay US troops' from
Iraq when he was in Baghdad last summer.

That makes no sense. The Iraqis have published their negotiating points, and
they have been saying that they want a US withdrawal by 2010. That is
virtually the same as Obama's plan, so it is highly unlikely that he was
urging them to extend that timetable to 2011 or beyond. Taheri has garbled
what Iraqi Foreign Minister Zebari told him.

The Obama campaign said, 


'But Obama's national security spokeswoman Wendy Morigi said Taheri's
article bore "as much resemblance to the truth as a McCain campaign
commercial."

In fact, Obama had told the Iraqis that they should not rush through a
"Strategic Framework Agreement" governing the future of US forces until
after President George W. Bush leaves office, she said.

In the face of resistance from Bush, the Democrat has long said that any
such agreement must be reviewed by the US Congress as it would tie a future
administration's hands on Iraq.

"Barack Obama has never urged a delay in negotiations, nor has he urged a
delay in immediately beginning a responsible drawdown of our combat
brigades," Morigi said.'


Taheri can't get his facts right. He alleged in his piece that Iraq would
form a new government after elections late this year. False. What are being
planned are only provincial elections. The al-Maliki government is safe
until early 2010 when the next round of parliamentary elections is scheduled
to be held. Since al-Maliki has a stable constituency in the Shite south,
60% of the population, it is a little unlikely that he will be unseated.

Amir Taheri is the one who tried to get a false story started a couple of
years ago that the Iranian government had passed a law requiring Iranian
Jews to wear special clothing. The story was false and was denied by the
Jewish member of the Iranian parliament. Taheri has a connection to the
Neoconservative 'talent' agency, Benador Associates, whose clients helped
get up the Iraq War.

If McCain trusts Taheri's account on this one, he is setting himself up for
a fall.

Lt. Gen. Ray Odierno has taken over command of US troops in Iraq and began
his duties with a warning of how difficult things still are.

The success of Republican Party propaganda that Iraq is "calm" now has the
disadvantage for US commanders facing daily violence that it may mislead
Congress and the public into cutting the support the commanders feel is
still very much necessary.

Ned Parker of the LAT argues that Iraq is now in the hands of Iran and Prime
Minister Nuri al-Maliki in any case, and increasingly that the scope for
American action there is limited. Al-Maliki has gotten control of the Iraqi
military and intelligence apparatuses and makes his decisions independently
of the US. Iran has helped convince the Mahdi Army to stand down, allowing
him to consolidate control over the Shiite areas. He will take control of
50,000 Sunnis in the awakening councils on October 1 and may demobilize them
and even prosecute some of them for past acts of terrorism. He has also
started projecting state power into parts of Iraq now patrolled by the
Kurdish Peshmerga, provoking a conflict with the Kurds of some bitterness.
Kurdistan Regional Government president Massoud Barzani warned on Sunday
that Kurdish troops in the Iraqi army could mutiny if the Arab-Kurdish
conflict deepened. Barzani's outrage derives from his realization that
Baghdad is reasserting itself under al-Maliki.

The Bush administration has declared itwill confiscate bank accounts and
assets in the United States of the Association of Muslim Scholars, a
clerical political party of Sunni fundamentalists, which Washington accuses
of plotting terrorist actions against the Green Zone. The AMS, which has no
assets anyplace the US treasury department could get at them, denies the
charges.


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