Sectarian violence continues to rattle Iraq and the U.S. military has been lobbying the Maliki government to 'invite' US forces to remain in Iraq past the December 31 deadline for withdrawal outlined in the 2008 Status of Forces (SOFA) agreement. But extending the deadline may be a precursor of a permanent U.S. military presence.
The Iraqi parliament removed provisions allowing permanent military bases from the SOFA agreement favored by the Bush administration. Iraqis took to the streets in 2008 insisting on total U.S. withdrawal. As a result, SOFA prohibits any US military bases or installations beyond 2011. In the US, Peace Action and our allies worked tirelessly against the war and occupation. President Obama was elected in no small part, because he promised to bring our troops home.
While the U.S. military would use the almost daily violence as an excuse to remain in Iraq, what is needed is greater focus on focus on reconstruction and stabilization, with less of our tax dollars spent on militarizing the problems Iraq faces and more funds directed toward the economic and reconstruction aid promised with reconstruction projects placed under the control of the Iraqi people.
The continued U.S. military presence may very well be serving as political cover for groups responsible for attacks on Iraq's civilian population. It also masks the failure of U.S. controlled efforts at reconstruction which have wasted tax payer dollars The U.S. has spent over $40 billion on Iraq reconstruction, approximately half of that amount on spent on Iraqi security forces. Numerous independent and government reports, including several reports from the Office of the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction detail billions of tax dollars wasted and unaccounted for. The emphasis on U.S. military operations undermines efforts to stabilize Iraq.
Peace Action will continue to advocate for the complete and total removal of all U.S. troops and contractors by the December 31 deadline and a refocused and properly funded program for reconstruction.
