US 'close' to Iraq military deal

Ya gotta love this stuff. They lie and lie and no one calls them on it or even seems to notice.

The US government is close to reaching an agreement with the Iraqi government over its long term military role in the country but will not seek permanent bases in the nation.

Bush administration officials told Al Jazeera that they expect to finalise a deal by the end of July over the so-called Status of Forces agreement, or Sofa.

The agreement would replace the current United Nations mandate authorising US troops to remain in the nation, which expires in December 2008.

However, Muqtada al-Sadr, Iraq's influential Shia cleric, has called for mass protests on Friday unless the Iraqi government abandons the proposed deal.

And last week Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, Iraq's most revered Shia cleric, also reportedly expressed his anger, saying he would not permit the Iraqi government to sign a deal with "US occupiers" as long as he lived. [emphasis mine]

No need' for bases

David Satterfield, a senior adviser on Iraq at the US state department, told Al Jazeera that the agreement would make explicit that the US was not seeking permanent military bases in the country.

"The Sofa agreement and the strategic frameworks agreement will make explicit that there is no desire for, indeed there is a rejection of permanent bases. We could not be clearer on this point," he said.

"We do not believe that there is a need for such bases."

Of course they have no need for such bases except for the virtual cities/bases they are already building. And in fact should have finished by now unless KRB was doing the construction.

Nope. The troops will live in quonset huts and tents and they'll land their planes on the fucking sand. No need for high, thick barriers because it isn't like there're people with rifles, RPGs and mortars around who want the US out of Iraq.

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