Why the US Won’t Leave Iraq
by James Buchanan

A recent news story reports “(Iraqi Vice President) Abdel-Mahdi told the pan-Arab daily Asharq al-Awsat that the Iraqi government was seeking in ongoing negotiations with Washington to end unlimited powers and sovereign rights that the US-led multinational troops have, including immunity from prosecution. Whether these troops leave Iraq or stay there, their presence has to be brought under Iraqi control, the Shia vice-president said. ‘A country like Iraq - one of the founders of the UN - cannot be placed under occupation in the 21st Century. The US military commander (in Iraq) can arrest any Iraq citizen while we can not arrest any US soldier even if he commits the worst of crimes,’ Abdel-Mahdi added.”
The neocons have endlessly told us that if we leave Iraq too quickly; chaos will break out there –as if dozens of bombings every day and a growing rebel uprising is something to be proud of. Never mind the fact that the invasion of Iraq was ILLEGAL, and that by International law, the US should withdraw all forces from Iraq immediately and restore the previous government (which we illegally executed).
As usual, the neocons are lying to us again. They lied about the “need” to invade Iraq, and they’re lying about what will happen if we leave. The British tried occupying Iraq in the 1920s. A rebel movement rose up to drive out the British. As soon as the occupying army left, Iraq returned to being a stable sovereign nation. (more…)














