Team Infidel
Forum Spin Doctor
Wall Street Journal
March 19, 2008
Pg. 4
Vice President Dick Cheney played the part of backroom power broker for two days and came away from talks in Iraq yesterday with pledges from Shiites, Sunnis and Kurds to firm up a new blueprint for U.S.-Iraq relations that will stretch beyond the Bush presidency. Topics of talks ranged from security in Iraq to Iran's rising influence in the Mideast, but a key item was about crafting a long-term pact between the U.S. and Iraq, plus a narrower deal to define the legal basis for a continued U.S. troop presence. The deal would take the place of a United Nations Security Council resolution that expires in December. The administration says the deal won't seek permanent U.S. bases in Iraq or codify troop levels, nor tie the hands of a future president. Administration officials say they probably won't seek Senate approval because the agreement won't be a treaty that provides Iraq with specific security guarantees.
-- Associated Press
March 19, 2008
Pg. 4
Vice President Dick Cheney played the part of backroom power broker for two days and came away from talks in Iraq yesterday with pledges from Shiites, Sunnis and Kurds to firm up a new blueprint for U.S.-Iraq relations that will stretch beyond the Bush presidency. Topics of talks ranged from security in Iraq to Iran's rising influence in the Mideast, but a key item was about crafting a long-term pact between the U.S. and Iraq, plus a narrower deal to define the legal basis for a continued U.S. troop presence. The deal would take the place of a United Nations Security Council resolution that expires in December. The administration says the deal won't seek permanent U.S. bases in Iraq or codify troop levels, nor tie the hands of a future president. Administration officials say they probably won't seek Senate approval because the agreement won't be a treaty that provides Iraq with specific security guarantees.
-- Associated Press