Revealed: Secret plan to keep Iraq under US control

President Bush is attempting to negotiate an accord with Iraq which will guarantee a permanent US presence in Iraq, where the US would occupy permanent bases, conduct military operations, arrest Iraqis and enjoy immunity from Iraqi law.

President Bush wants to push it through by the end of next month so he can declare a military victory and claim his 2003 invasion has been vindicated. But by perpetuating the US presence in Iraq, the long-term settlement would undercut pledges by the Democratic presidential nominee, Barack Obama, to withdraw US troops if he is elected president in November.

The timing of the agreement would also boost the Republican candidate, John McCain, who has claimed the United States is on the verge of victory in Iraq – a victory that he says Mr Obama would throw away by a premature military withdrawal.

America currently has 151,000 troops in Iraq and, even after projected withdrawals next month, troop levels will stand at more than 142,000 – 10 000 more than when the military "surge" began in January 2007. Under the terms of the new treaty, the Americans would retain the long-term use of more than 50 bases in Iraq. American negotiators are also demanding immunity from Iraqi law for US troops and contractors, and a free hand to carry out arrests and conduct military activities in Iraq without consulting the Baghdad government.

The precise nature of the American demands has been kept secret until now. The leaks are certain to generate an angry backlash in Iraq. "It is a terrible breach of our sovereignty," said one Iraqi politician, adding that if the security deal was signed it would delegitimise the government in Baghdad which will be seen as an American pawn.

Bush and his right wing nutters have always said that victory in Iraq would be signaled by an American withdrawal leaving behind a secure democratic Iraq. Bush can't simply declare victory whilst leaving thousands of troops permanently in the country. And to even attempt to do so just before a presidential election in which both Hillary and Barack have made it known that they would withdraw troops is shocking political maneuvering on Bush's part.

The US has repeatedly denied it wants permanent bases in Iraq but one Iraqi source said: "This is just a tactical subterfuge." Washington also wants control of Iraqi airspace below 29,000ft and the right to pursue its "war on terror" in Iraq, giving it the authority to arrest anybody it wants and to launch military campaigns without consultation.

Mr Bush is determined to force the Iraqi government to sign the so-called "strategic alliance" without modifications, by the end of next month. But it is already being condemned by the Iranians and many Arabs as a continuing American attempt to dominate the region. Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, the powerful and usually moderate Iranian leader, said yesterday that such a deal would create "a permanent occupation". He added: "The essence of this agreement is to turn the Iraqis into slaves of the Americans."

Iraq's Prime Minister, Nouri al-Maliki, is believed to be personally opposed to the terms of the new pact but feels his coalition government cannot stay in power without US backing.

The deal also risks exacerbating the proxy war being fought between Iran and the United States over who should be more influential in Iraq.

Everything that has been wrong with the Bush presidency is inherent in this proposed agreement, which would force a government - reliant on the US for it's very survival- to push forward an agenda which they do not believe in.

It also undermines how dishonest the Bush administration have been regarding their long term plans for Iraq and the region. And the man pushing this outrageous deal from behind a curtain is, of course, Dick Cheney.

The Iraqi government wants to delay the actual signing of the agreement but the office of Vice-President Dick Cheney has been trying to force it through. The US ambassador in Baghdad, Ryan Crocker, has spent weeks trying to secure the accord.

This immoral deal is simply further proof of the insanity which lies behind the neo-con world view. For all their talk of promoting democracy what they really promote is American dominance simply because the US has the military power to dominate.

This deal would be rejected, I think, by the majority of Americans never mind the number of Iraqis who would object to it. But I suppose Dick Cheney would simply mutter, "So?" when told of everyone's objections.

The current neo-con loons occupying the White House really do seem to believe that they have been elected as dictators until the next election and that the will of the people is utterly irrelevant outside of an election cycle.

This is a timely reminder of why McCain cannot be allowed to become President and carry out a third Bush term.

For years the neo-cons have bemoaned everyone else's lack of vision to use American military power the way they thought it should be employed. For the last seven years they have had their way and the results have been disastrous. Hundreds of thousands of people have needlessly lost their lives, American influence in the world is at an all time low, and we now find that they want to endlessly occupy a Middle Eastern country.

They are the most extreme people who have ever occupied the White House and America should punish the Republican party for ever allowing such people to lead them. And make no mistake, John McCain offers no break from this insane way of thinking, he simply offers more of the same.

The world wants America back. And only Obama can give us that.

And, when we hear insane proposals like this one, yesterday wouldn't be soon enough for it to happen.

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Tags: Iraq war, George Bush, Dick Cheney, permanent military bases, occupation