Iraq changes its SoFA negotiating team
The LATimes confirms the Arabic report from Friday saying that Iraq has indeed swapped out its negotiators on the SoFA agreement with the US.
The LATimes says that the swap is a stalling maneuver, but I have to say, taking out the SIIC Foreign Minister and replacing him with Mowaffak Rubaie, who has been very friendly with the US in the past, doesn't seem like stalling.
Probably the main takeaway is that Maliki has removed some of his coalition members and replaced them with those closest to him right as the documents were supposedly being finalized.
Also in the article, the new goal on the SoFA is December (during Bush's lame duck. You could argue a completed SoFA, as it was being discussed, would have been political trouble for McCain.)
The LATimes says that the swap is a stalling maneuver, but I have to say, taking out the SIIC Foreign Minister and replacing him with Mowaffak Rubaie, who has been very friendly with the US in the past, doesn't seem like stalling.
Probably the main takeaway is that Maliki has removed some of his coalition members and replaced them with those closest to him right as the documents were supposedly being finalized.
Also in the article, the new goal on the SoFA is December (during Bush's lame duck. You could argue a completed SoFA, as it was being discussed, would have been political trouble for McCain.)
A State Department spokesman in Washington told reporters last week that the United States hoped to finish an agreement by December./
posted by mikevotes at
6:09 AM
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