Thursday, June 20, 2013

Iraq: Sarah Flounders embarrasses herself

Today Press TV has an interview with Sara Flounders.  Flounders is an important voice on the left.  She's an activist, she's a Communist, she's a member of the Workers World Party, she's part of the International Action Center, she's many things.

Usually, that includes "factual."

Not today.

In sharing her opinion on Afghanistan, she decides to share some 'facts' on Iraq -- but they're not facts.
Press TV: And what that circumstances would that be Sara Flounders, do you think?

Flounders: Well, just to repeat again, people of Afghanistan have a right to self-determination and the only course is for the US to get out and it is very true. That is how the war in Vietnam ended.
A complete US withdrawal was up to the people of Vietnam and it is also true in Iraq that it was a refusal on every level by the people of Iraq to allow a continued US occupation through Status of Forces Agreement that forced the US to completely withdraw and really it certainly appears that is what will happen in Afghanistan. That the only solution is for the US to get out.



The US forces never withdrew completely.  Last fall, in fact, Barack sent in another unit of Special Ops at the request of the Iraqi government and, in December, the US got the agreement they wanted.





From the  June 7th Iraq snapshot:



  
December 6, 2012, the Memorandum of Understanding For Defense Cooperation Between the Ministry of Defense of the Republic of Iraq and the Department Defense of the United States of America was signed.  We covered it in the December 10th and December 11th snapshots -- lots of luck finding coverage elsewhere including in media outlets -- apparently there was some unstated agreement that everyone would look the other way.  It was similar to the silence that greeted Tim Arango's September 25th New York Times report which noted, "Iraq and the United States are negotiating an agreement that could result in the return of small units of American soldiers to Iraq on training missions.  At the request of the Iraqi government, according to [US] General [Robert L.] Caslen, a unit of Army Special Operations soldiers was recently deployed to Iraq to advise on counterterrorism and help with intelligence."

From the Congressional Research Services'  "Iraq: Politics, Governance, and Human Rights:"


Heightened AQ-I and other insurgent activity has shaken the Iraqi leadership’s confidence in the ISF somewhat and apparently prompted the Iraqi government to reemphasize security cooperation with the United States. On August 19, 2012, en route to a visit to Iraq, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Martin Dempsey said that “I think [Iraqi leaders] recognize their capabilities may require yet more additional development and I think they’re reaching out to us to see if we can help them with that.” 39 Iraq reportedly has expressed interest in expanded U.S. training of the ISF, joint exercises, and accelerated delivery of U.S. arms to be sold, including radar, air defense systems, and border security equipment. 40 Some refurbished air defense guns are being provided gratis as excess defense articles (EDA), but Iraq was said to lament that the guns would not arrive until June 2013. Iraq reportedly argued that the equipment was needed to help it enforce insistence that Iranian overflights to Syria land in Iraq for inspection. 

After the Dempsey visit, reflecting the Iraqi decision to reengage intensively with the United States on security, it was reported that, at the request of Iraq, a unit of Army Special Operations forces had deployed to Iraq to advise on counterterrorism and help with intelligence, presumably against AQ-I. 41 (These forces presumably are operating under a limited SOFA or related understanding crafted for this purpose.) Other reports suggest that Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) paramilitary forces have, as of late 2012, largely taken over some of the DOD mission of helping Iraqi counter-terrorism forces (Counter-Terrorism Service, CTS) against AQ-I in western Iraq: Politics, Governance, and Human Rights Congressional Research Service 38 Iraq. 42 Part of the reported CIA mission is to also work against the AQ-I affiliate in Syria, the Al Nusrah Front, discussed above. 

Reflecting an acceleration of the Iraqi move to reengage militarily with the United States, during December 5-6, 2012, Under Secretary of Defense for Policy James Miller and acting Under Secretary of State for International Security Rose Gottemoeller visited Iraq and a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) was signed with acting Defense Minister Sadoun Dulaymi. 

The five year MOU provides for: 

• high level U.S.-Iraq military exchanges 
• professional military education cooperation 
• counter-terrorism cooperation 
• the development of defense intelligence capabilities 
• joint exercises 

The MOU appears to address many of the issues that have hampered OSC-I from performing the its mission to its full potential. The MOU also reflects some of the more recent ideas put forward, such as joint exercises. 


That's information you should be aware of before you speak about Iraq.  If you are not aware of it and insist upon misspeaking?


From Sunday's "The Iraq Dialogue:"


 Isaiah: It's really amazing that you four have to be like Paul Revere, riding through the country, proclaiming, "Barack's sent troops back into Iraq!" and you're having to do that because other people won't do their job.  I'm thinking of Phyllis Bennis, for example.



 
Stan: I would agree with that.  And these people present as experts.  Does Phyllis grasp how many people stop listening to her on Syria or whatever this week's pet cause is after she lies that all US troops are out of Iraq?  I don't think she does.  But if she can't get that correct, why would we expect her to get anything else right?


In January 2012, you could probably get away with the lie.  But more and more, people are becoming aware of the both the US forces still in Iraq and of the MoU.

If you're not aware of it, you're embarrassing yourself.


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