Obama's "withdrawal"

Eric Margolis writes:

During the election campaign, Obama vowed to swiftly bring US troops home from Iraq. He denounced the invasion and occupation of Iraq as a "violation of international law."

Obama did say he would keep some US troops in Iraq for "training" government forces, but few voters knew what he meant at the time, and even fewer paid attention to this fine print. We believed the Iraq nightmare would finally be over.

But

In spite of Obama’s vows to pull out of Iraq, the powers that be in Washington may be intent on keeping Iraq a US military, political and economic protectorate. Obama’s withdrawal deadline could easily be voided by claims of terrorism and growing instability in Iraq.

The plan for Iraq follows exactly the same control model the British Empire used to rule Iraq and to exploit its oil.

Chris Floyd tells us

One of the most remarkable aspects of Obama's "war lite" plan is its brazen and absolute disregard for the agreement signed between the United States and the supposedly sovereign Iraqi government guaranteeing the complete withdrawal of all American troops by the end of 2011. Of course, this "agreement" was always considered a farce by everyone – except for the American corporate media, which kept reporting on the "tough negotiations" as if the pact would have any actual meaning in the real world. The agreement contained escape clauses allowing the Iraqi government to "request" a continued American military presence after the 2011 deadline – and considering that any Iraqi government in place in 2011 will be helplessly dependent on American guns and money to maintain its power, such a "request" has always been a dead certainty.

And Margolis reminds us

Obama made clear officials responsible for the Iraq War, torture, kidnapping or assassination will not be prosecuted. The theft of over $50 billion in US "reconstruction" funds sent to Iraq is being hushed up.

By contrast, many Britons are angrily demanding release of cabinet documents leading to war that are likely to expose Tony Blair’s lies and illegalities. So far, the Labor government has managed to suppress the incriminating documents.

There is no corresponding call for justice in the United States. There is little appetite to prosecute the former officials who led the US into war. Obama now tells the public: let bygones be bygones. Unless, of course, it’s Osama bin Laden and Mullah Omar in Afghanistan.

Between 600,000 and one million Iraqis died as a result of President George Bush’s aggression, which cost nearly $1 trillion and over 4,200 Americans dead and over 25,000 wounded.

Four million Iraqis remain refugees. The US holds over 20,000 Iraqi political prisoners, perhaps more. Polls show a majority of Iraqis believe the US will never leave Iraq.

Yes, it's nice to have "change," isn't it?