Iraqi MPs give HFAC an earful

Truthout

Last week, for the first time, two Iraqi members of Parliament (MPs) testified before the House Foreign Affairs Committee. They spoke bluntly.

"The anarchy and chaos in Iraq is linked to the presence of the occupation, not withdrawal from Iraq," Nadeem Al-Jaberi, an MP and co-founder of the Al-Fadhila party, testified.
Under questioning by Republican Congress members, Al-Jaberi repeatedly renounced the "success of the surge," and added, "What we strive for is establishing a balanced relationship between the two countries. But nothing of this could be made possible until the troops withdraw from Iraq."

"The majority of Iraqi MPs, and more than 70 percent of the Iraqi people, are against signing any agreements or treaties with the US while Iraq is under the occupation," Al-Jaberi said.

According to a letter to Congress signed by Iraqi Parliament members representing the majority parties, "The Iraqi Council of Representatives is looking to ratify agreements that end every form of American intervention in Iraq's internal affairs and restore Iraq's independence and sovereignty over its land."

The letter requests not only the removal of all soldiers and military bases, but also of "hired fighters," pointing to another aspect of withdrawal that the Iraqi Parliament has its eye on, although previous drafts of US withdrawal legislation - and much of the presidential debate - have overlooked it: the use of private military contractors in Iraq.

"US mercenaries are viewed by Iraqis as criminal gangs protected by the occupation," Al-Ulayyan told Truthout.

The MPs' overarching message: They're eager for a partnership with US Congress members that will help them work toward shared goals, but they're not interested in conforming to the demands of any American bosses, be they Republican or Democrat. The key to achieving Iraqi sovereignty, they say, will be allowing Iraq to determine what that sovereignty looks like.

"We think that the American people and Congress are misinformed about what the Iraqis want," Al-Ulayyan said, adding, "We hope we will have more chances to bring the voices of the majority of Iraqis to America."

All well and good, Iraqis, but here's the bottom line:

Bush doesn't give a shit what you want, and he's not going to leave Iraq without your oil. That's it in a nutshell.

May I suggest you have Bush's puppet your government ask us, very publicly and officially, to leave? Then we'll see what Bush does. You probably won't be surprised to hear that you're just a bunch of oil-bearing brown savages who don't know what's best for you and the all-knowing white men are just looking out for your interests and will continue to do so.