US vows no permanent bases in Iraq

[UpInArms]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20060311/pl_afp/iraqusiranmilitary_060311215659

BAGHDAD (AFP) - US ambassador to Iraq Zalmay Khalilzad said that his country did not want permanent military bases in Iraq and that he was willing to talk to
Iran about the war-torn country's future.

"We want Iraq to stand on its own feet, we have no goal of establishing permanent bases here," he said in an interview with Iraq's Ash-Sharqiya television, according to a transcript obtained by AFP.

"Our goal is a working, a workable government, so that we can leave Iraq and let Iraqis handle all their circumstance themselves. That's our goal, and were very serious about this, we mean it," he said.

The ambassador said he was willing to speak with Iran about Iraq's future, stressing however that the US would not let its concerns over Iran's alleged nuclear weapons' drive influence its policies in Iraq.

...more...

On those "permanent bases":

Biggest Base in Iraq Has Small-Town Feel

Balad is scheduled to be one of the last four U.S. bases in Iraq and probably will be the very last, officials say. "Balad will be here, I believe, to the very end," said Brig. Gen. Frank Gorenc, the Slovenian-born F-15 pilot who commands the Air Force side of the operation.

Like most towns, Balad has distinct neighborhoods. The southwest part, home to thousands of civilian contractors, is "KBR-land," a reference to the construction company. "CJSOTF," for Combined Joint Special Operations Task Force, is home to a special operations unit and is hidden by especially high walls. Visitors aren't welcome there, and the Army public affairs chief on the base said he'd never been inside.

<snip>

Of the 20,000 troops at Balad, only several hundred have jobs that take them off base. Most Americans posted here never interact with an Iraqi, and some never see one, said Army Lt. Col. Larry Dotson, who is effectively the city manager. The closest some troops here come to experiencing the Iraq seen on the evening news is the miniature golf course, which mimics a battlefield with its baby sandbags, little Jersey barriers, strands of concertina wire and, down at the end of the course, what appears to be a tiny detainee cage.

The town's most distinctive feature is the long runway that bisects it. Air Force officials say it is now one of the world's busiest. "We are behind only Heathrow right now," said Gorenc, the Air Force commander.

(Note to Mods: This is just over the 12 hour rule - but I searched and could not find it posted - Thanks for all you do and do as you will - UIA)

[hippiechick]

1. No bases "IN" Iraq ... because Iraq will "BE" a base.

Republican semantics at work again. :puke:

[tom_paine]

2. Just a simple, bald-faced lie

Simple as Stalin or Hitler or Ferdinand Marcos.

[bemildred]

5. Exactly. nt

[ladjf]

14. No, they plan to pull out within 1,000 years.

[Chimichurri]

3. Well then the opposite is true.

[annabanana]

4. I'm sure that Balad will be given to

the Iraqi's soon. :sarcasm:

[peacebird]

6. key phrase - "Permanent".

At the govt facility where I used to work there was a two story "temporary" building which has been around for almost 20 years, apparently they would have needed congressional approval to build a "permanent" structure but no such worries over a "temporary" building....

[BiggJawn]

8. We have "Temporaries" on my campus.

They were built to handle the flood of GI Bill students.... in 1946!

They finally tore-down the WWII-vintage Quonset huts where Visual Arts was housed 2 years ago...

"No permanment bases" is a weasel-word!

[Lasher]

11. Define "permanent"

As Earth's sun is of one solar mass, it is expected to become a red giant in about six billion years. It will become sufficiently large to engulf the current orbits of the solar system's inner planets, including Earth.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_giant

[no_hypocrisy]

18. The PATRIOT Act was supposed to be "temporary" as well.

I don't believe a word that this administrations emits for anything.

[UpInArms]

7. from Jan 2006 article: EXCLUSIVE U.S. plans Baghdad embassy more secure th

EXCLUSIVE: BILLION DOLLAR BUNKER EXCLUSIVE U.S. plans Baghdad embassy more secure than Pentagon

AMERICA is to spend £1billion on an embassy in Baghdad "more secure than the Pentagon".

Plans for the hi-tech complex are being kept secret because of the terrorist threat in Iraq.

The exact location is not being released until later this year but it is likely to be built in the heavily fortified Green Zone area where the Iraqi government and US military command is based.

The embassy will be guarded by 15ft blast walls and ground-to-air missiles and the main building will have bunkers for use during air offensives.

The grounds will include as many as 300 houses for consular and military officials.

And a large-scale barracks will be built for Marines who will protect what will be Washington's biggest and most secure overseas building.

<snip>

"You may as well move the Pentagon to Iraq. It will be amazingly secure but it also flies in the face of claims American is preparing to leave Iraq to be policed and governed by Iraqis.

"Plans for four superbases across the country will only reinforce the view that the US is here to stay for the duration."

...more...

[ucmike]

9. Ambassador to Iraq Zalmay Khalilzad then stated.....

"PSYCHE!!!!", and revealed that he had his fingers crossed the whole time, according to the AP transcript.

[UpInArms]

10. Khalizad - PNACer and former Unocal adviser

http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Zalmay_Khalilzad

Zalmay Khalilzad, the most senior Pashtun-American and highest-ranking Muslim to serve in the Bush administration,<1> became the U.S. Ambassador to Afghanistan in November 2003. He headed the Bush-Cheney transition team for the Defense Department in 2000 and has been a Counselor to Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld. <2>

He is a member of the Project for the New American Century (PNAC) and was one of the signers of the January 26, 1998, PNAC Letter sent to President William Jefferson Clinton.

<snip>

Khalilzad was one of the original members of the Project for the New American Century (the only Muslim and non-native born American original member), and signed the January 26, 1998 letter to President Clinton, calling for a "comprehensive political and military strategy for bringing down Saddam and his regime" in Iraq.<10>

<snip>

Zalmay Khalilzad served as an advisor to the giant oil company Unocal during the Taliban rule in Afghanistan. While working for the Cambridge Energy Research Associates in the mid 1990s, Khalilzad conducted risk analyses for Unocal for a proposed 890-mile, $2-billion, 1.9-billion-cubic-feet-per-day natural gas pipeline project which would have extended from Turkmenistan through Afghanistan to Pakistan. In 1997, Khalilzad "joined Unocal officials at a reception for an invited Taliban delegation to Texas." <13>

...more...

[leftchick]

15. he has an extremely sordid history

not unlike his predecessor Negroponte. The Iraqis know what a fucking criminal he is.

[truthisfreedom]

12. and that explains the billions spent on new bases.

riiiiiight.

[Solly Mack]

13. They use a "tiny detainee cage" as part of "miniature golf"?

That's sick. All thing considered - that's downright disturbing.


On the subject of bases:
Permanent depends on your definition of "permanent" / how it's applied.

If the US leaves Germany in 10 years - the bases weren't (technically) "permanent" US bases - even if the structures built last a lifetime - if they no longer hold US forces, then how can that be permanent US bases? I'd imagine the same "logic" is being applied to the Iraq bases.

If, eventually, US forces leave those bases in Iraq - then the technical truth is "no permanent bases".... but that's just not the reality ...it's only a technical truth based on a future projection of a long term operational plan...simply put: It's what they hope to be true in some future reality - so they are selling that as "the" truth now.

Current reality is - troops aren't going anywhere, permanent structures that house the US miltary are being built and Iraq is an occupied nation.

[Bigmack]

16. Cam Rahn Bay...

... was built in Vietnam - during the war - as a temporary base.

We spent billions on the damn thing.

The Russians really enjoyed berthing there after Vietnam won. Finest deep-water port on the coast. Great facilities.

Who's going to park their forces in Balad and gloat when we get pushed out of Iraq?

I vote Iran.

[Gregorian]

17. They've already poured the concrete.

Those are permanent. Unless we're just throwing our money away, and pouring concrete for nothing.

Sheesh. I guess good Americans don't pay attention.

This administration is going to require a new entry into the dictionary for the word truth.

[pdurod1]

19. LIE, number uhh I lost count.

[Jack Rabbit]

20. Bush appointee speaks with forked tongue

There are two ways to tell if a neoconservative is lying:

1. His lips are moving;
or
2. There is verbage printed under his byline.

[Demeter]

21. Pull The Other Leg, Please!

I hate walking with a limp.

[MrPrax]

22. Khalilzad is funnier than Baghdad Bob

[The_Casual_Observer]

23. "Balad will be here, I believe, to the very end"

How long is the very end?

[IndianaGreen]

24. Guanatanamo is not a permanent base either

Yet the US is still on occupied Cuban soil after over a century.

[maddezmom]

25. kick

[ECH1969]

26. US vows no permanent bases in Iraq

US ambassador to Iraq Zalmay Khalilzad said Saturday that his country did not want permanent military bases in Iraq.

"We want Iraq to stand on its own feet, we have no goal of establishing permanent bases here," he said in an interview with Iraq's Ash-Sharqiya television, according to a transcript obtained by AFP.

"Our goal is a working, a workable government, so that we can leave Iraq and let Iraqis handle all their circumstance themselves. That's our goal, and were very serious about this, we mean it," he said.

http://www.financialexpress-bd.com/index3.asp?cnd=3/13/2006§ion_id=26&newsid=18540&spcl=no

[cantstandbush]

27. Liars. WTF did they spend all that taxpayer money on building then?

Iraq is getting more of our tax dollars than the poor and elderly in this country.

[LynnTheDem]

28. "Does not want..." Later will be "we have no choice but to build

permanent bases..."

That Hitleresque thing; "we didn't want...it was forced on us..."

Same shit. Different assholes.

[uppityperson]

29. "that's our goal...we are serious...we mean it..." righhhht

[Debi]

30. Don't we already have them there? n/t

[doublethink]

31. Tell it to the US Army .....

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x2166973

[NYC]

45. Abizaid says U.S. may want to keep bases in Iraq

The United States may want to keep a long-term military presence in Iraq to bolster moderates against extremists in the region and protect the flow of oil, the Army general overseeing U.S. military operations in Iraq said on Tuesday.

"Clearly our long-term vision for a military presence in the region requires a robust counter-terrorist capability," Abizaid said. "No doubt there is a need for some presence in the region over time primarily to help people help themselves through this period of extremists versus moderates."

Abizaid also said the United States and its allies have a vital interest in the oil-rich region.

"Ultimately it comes down to the free flow of goods and resources on which the prosperity of our own nation and everybody else in the world depend," he said.

http://in.today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=worldNews&storyID=2006-03-15T050147Z_01_NOOTR_RTRJONC_0_India-240616-1.xml&archived=False

Long term or permanent. It's a matter of semantics.

[Don Claybrook]

32. Damn! I just read the exact opposite in these pages 5 minutes ago

Abizaid was quoted as saying we may just need to keep some long-term bases in Iraq.

So, which one of these liars is more of a liar on this particular point?

[SoCalDem]

33. Define "permanent"...

:(

[mom cat]

46. The "temporary buildings I went to Jr High in 47 years ago are still being

used.:grr:

[oblivious]

54. OK, 100 years. For suuuure no longer than 100 years. Unless...

...the situation changes between now and then.

[redqueen]

34. We believe you! because if the bush guys are anything, it's honest! n/t

[MichiganVote]

35. Yeah sure...whatever

[The_Casual_Observer]

36. They voted for the permanent bases before they voted against them

[soothsayer]

37. Yes, we only built our largest in the world there....for fun!

[HysteryDiagnosis]

38. Why the f**k should Iraq be any different from any of the other

hundreds of countries we have permanent bases in??? ESPECIALLY IRAQ.

[rocktivity]

39. They began building FOURTEEN of them just after the invasion began

Are they going to call them something else, like "long-term temporary" bases?

:headbang:
rocknation

[arcane1]

40. "no-one could have anticipated permanent military bases"

:puke::puke::puke::puke::puke::puke:

[neuvocat]

41. Ah so they're setting up bases now.

They've lied about everything else when it comes to Iraq so you know that's exactly what they will do.

[Tom Yossarian Joad]

42. "Yeah.... That's the ticket! And I'm married to Morgan Fairchild."

Bwahahahaha!

[Media_Lies_Daily]

43. That's a pack of unadulterated, baldfaced lies.

[lovuian]

44. we spend millions and billions on bases for what???

Liars 1 Believers 0

[HuffleClaw]

47. suuuuuuuuuuuure

he'll 'rethink' his statement soon enough. they just won't CALL 'em 'permanent bases'.

[no_hypocrisy]

48. So, which is it: Should we stay or should we go?

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x2166973

[Teaser]

49. Funny that Bush won't say it.

nt

[DinahMoeHum]

50. If you believe this, I've got a bridge to sell you. . .

n/t

[arewenotdemo]

51. won't matter

it may take awhile but eventually the Iraqis WILL kick the Murkans out.

[Disturbed]

52. Permanent means forever.

Long term could mean for the next 20 years or when the oil is gone.


"The terrorists want to control the oil. Our way of life will be at risk". George W. Bush (Nov. 2005)

[buddysmellgood]

53. We intend to rename the country.

[MrSlayer]

55. HAHAHAHA!!! LMAO!!

Oh man, that is so fucking rich. The PNAC plan specifically calls for permanent bases in Iraq and they are following it to the letter.

[cliss]

56. That's about as close as these guys have ever gotten

to stating the REAL reason why we're in Iraq.

Here it is (see post #19: "Ultimately it comes down to the free flow of goods and resources on which the prosperity of our own nation and everybody else in the world depend," he said.


Notice, "free flow", "goods and resources"....guess what that is? I'd say they're getting awfully close to the truth.....

[sheelz]

57. Read about the bases here:

Can You Say 'Permanent Bases'?

http://www.thenation.com/doc/20060327/engelhardt/2

[sheelz]

58. Here is snip:

" The largest base in the country, Ricks tells us, has an American "small-town feel" and is sizable enough to have "neighborhoods," including "KBR-land" (in honor of the Halliburton subsidiary that has done most base-construction work) and the walled-in "CJSOTF" (the Combined Joint Special Operations Task Force, so secretive that even the base Army public affairs chief hasn't been inside). There is as well a Subway, a Pizza Hut, a Popeye's, "an ersatz Starbucks," a twenty-four-hour Burger King, two post exchanges where TVs, iPods and the like, convoyed in, can be purchased, four mess halls, a hospital, a speed limit of ten miles per hour, a huge airstrip, 250 aircraft, air-traffic pileups of a sort familiar over Chicago's O'Hare airport and a "miniature golf course, which mimics a battlefield with its baby sandbags, little Jersey barriers, strands of concertina wire and, down at the end of the course, what appears to be a tiny detainee cage." Ricks reports that, of the 20,000 troops living in "air-conditioned containers" (soon to be wired for Internet, cable television and overseas telephone access), "only several hundred have jobs that take them off base." Recently, British reporter Oliver Poole visited the still-under-construction al-Asad Air Base in a stretch of desert in Anbar Province that "increasingly resembles a slice of US suburbia." In addition to the requisite Subway and pizza outlets, this super-base even has a Hertz rent-a-car office. In fact, al-Asad is so large--such bases may cover fifteen to twenty square miles--that it has two bus routes.

[Celeborn Skywalker]

59. I believe them

I mean, when has Bush ever been shown to lie?? :sarcasm:

[realFedUp]

60. Congresswoman Barbara Lee's amendment to budget bill

ahhhh, the House votes overwhelmingly in a voice vote
only to Barbara Lee's amendment that says no
permanent military bases in Iraq....who is anyone
kidding? Can someone explain this weirdness please.
I certainly support Barbara Lee, but isn't this just
some kind of politic smoked mirror?

http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2006/03/17/MNGJDHPS701.DTL

The House, in approving the spending bill 348-71, also gave anti-war Democrat Rep. Barbara Lee of Oakland a rare victory by accepting her proposal to bar permanent U.S. military bases in Iraq.