Torn Between Two Lovers
On Saturday, I posted on the Bush administration's push for a "status of forces agreement" with Iraq which would keep US troops at 50 bases around Iraq for the foreseeable future. Iraqi President al-Maliki has been stalling, hoping to avoid signing any such agreement until the new US administration takes office, and with good reason. His neighbors in Iran are none too pleased with the thought of thousands of US troops on their door sill. From today's Los Angeles Times:
Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Maliki concluded a three-day visit to Iran after meeting Monday with Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who warned that the continued presence of U.S. troops was "the main obstacle on the way to progress and prosperity in Iraq."...
Khamenei, however, said Iraq's "most important problem" wasn't the still-active Sunni Arab insurgency or the reining in of Shiite militias, but rather the continued presence of "occupying troops."
Khamenei and other Iranian politicians have repeatedly urged Maliki's government not to sign a status of forces agreement being negotiated with the United States. The agreement would provide a legal framework for the continued presence of U.S. troops in Iraq after the United Nations mandate expires at the end of this year.
The current administration is no doubt aware that time is running out on the UN mandate, and the status of forces agreement would have the effect of doing an end around the United Nations and the next administration, which is why increasing pressure is being placed on al-Maliki by the US Ambassador to Iraq and by Vice President to sign the agreement.
Iran, however, is also aware of the timing of the pact, and would love to thwart the US in every way possible. More than sheer orneriness is involved, however. US sabre rattling towards Iran has increased over the past two years.
Tehran fears that U.S. bases in Iraq permitted under an eventual status of forces agreement could be used to launch an attack on Iran. Maliki and other Iraqi officials have offered assurances to the contrary, but Iran has conducted a full-scale publicity campaign against the accord. Sadr, who is believed to be in Iran for several months, has organized protests against the security pact among his followers in Iraq.
As much as the US wants to forestall any further nuclear development by Iran, it really wants to curtail Iran's growing influence in the region, an influence made possible by the US's destruction of the one natural counter-balance to that influence, Iraq.
And that leaves President al-Maliki in a very tough position, facing the opposition within his own country from the Sunni insurgents and the Shiite militias, and standing between two powerful countries who despise each other.
George Bush once said that presidentin' was hard. Nouri al-Maliki is discovering the truth of that statement.
224 days.
Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Maliki concluded a three-day visit to Iran after meeting Monday with Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who warned that the continued presence of U.S. troops was "the main obstacle on the way to progress and prosperity in Iraq."...
Khamenei, however, said Iraq's "most important problem" wasn't the still-active Sunni Arab insurgency or the reining in of Shiite militias, but rather the continued presence of "occupying troops."
Khamenei and other Iranian politicians have repeatedly urged Maliki's government not to sign a status of forces agreement being negotiated with the United States. The agreement would provide a legal framework for the continued presence of U.S. troops in Iraq after the United Nations mandate expires at the end of this year.
The current administration is no doubt aware that time is running out on the UN mandate, and the status of forces agreement would have the effect of doing an end around the United Nations and the next administration, which is why increasing pressure is being placed on al-Maliki by the US Ambassador to Iraq and by Vice President to sign the agreement.
Iran, however, is also aware of the timing of the pact, and would love to thwart the US in every way possible. More than sheer orneriness is involved, however. US sabre rattling towards Iran has increased over the past two years.
Tehran fears that U.S. bases in Iraq permitted under an eventual status of forces agreement could be used to launch an attack on Iran. Maliki and other Iraqi officials have offered assurances to the contrary, but Iran has conducted a full-scale publicity campaign against the accord. Sadr, who is believed to be in Iran for several months, has organized protests against the security pact among his followers in Iraq.
As much as the US wants to forestall any further nuclear development by Iran, it really wants to curtail Iran's growing influence in the region, an influence made possible by the US's destruction of the one natural counter-balance to that influence, Iraq.
And that leaves President al-Maliki in a very tough position, facing the opposition within his own country from the Sunni insurgents and the Shiite militias, and standing between two powerful countries who despise each other.
George Bush once said that presidentin' was hard. Nouri al-Maliki is discovering the truth of that statement.
224 days.
Labels: Foreign Policy, Iran, Iraq
posted by Diane at 10:00 AM
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