re: "Iraq Pullout - Not A Cause for Celebration"

LONGTABSIGO at Blackfive ("the paratrooper of love") commented on strategy.

Money quote(s):

"I must have been absent in strategy class the day they taught that you can declare a war over unilaterally."

Well, you can. But normally you destroy their ability to make war and occupy their capital first.

Oh wait, we did that.

At least one bright observer theorized that we've fought at least three wars in Iraq already, since invading in 2003.

So which war is that we won this time?

(Hint: Identify your enemy.)

(Take your time.)

(Another hint: Read the Max Boot quote towards the end of the linked post.)

"But the rationale is not even adversary-based. It is ostensibly because DOD and State Lawyers cannot work out an appropriate Status of Forces agreement such that US Troops would not be subject to the arbitrary whim of Iraqi law (even if taking an action deemed to be "in the line of duty" by US law/standards).

I've heard of "lawfare" as a check against offensive action out of fear of risk or possible bad press. But an inabilty to convincinly negotiate as a rationale for major troop reduction?" (Emphasis in original text. - CAA.)

10/21

re: "Hitting nails on the head"

nmleon had responded to my earlier comment of Thursday, February 9th at 9:42AM EDT, responding to Jeff Emanuel's post at Redstate.

nmleon said:

"Having spent 3 of the last 5 yrs in Iraq (DoD contractor), I can say that Consul has it exactly right as far as he’s commented.

Nobody ate MREs on an extended basis, and the massively complicated logistics supply chain was until last Dec managed by DoD under the aegis of our SOFA (Status Of Forces Agreement). With the failure of the administration to negotiate a new or continuing SOFA, we had no option but to withdraw our military forces from Iraq.

Without a SOFA, the remaining USG organizations (and the contractors managing their logistics supply chain) HAD to be folded into DoS (with diplomatic status) or be essentially left as tourists, fully subject to Iraqi law even in the performance of their duties.

As to whether or not USAID etc should have missions there at all, I’m less than certain. While we had a continued (small) military presence I think it was a no-brainer. Iraq is a country with a lot of potential if sectarian strife can be ameliorated. Without our continued military presence I have doubts that will happen."

2/9

S&S - Congressmen look to pressure DOD to act on Japan child abductions

From my archive of press clippings:

Stars and Stripes

Congressmen look to pressure DOD to act on Japan child abductions


By Charlie Reed, Stars and Stripes

Pacific edition, Friday, May 7, 2010


YOKOTA AIR BASE, Japan — A congressional resolution introduced Tuesday is calling on the secretary of defense to alter the status of forces agreement with Japan to assist servicemembers whose children have been kidnapped and taken to Japan.

Read the whole article here.

Snippet(s):

"The proposed resolution also calls for the United States to enact agreements with Japan to resolve the mounting cases of parental child abduction involving U.S. citizens, who now have few legal options in Japanese courts."

"Kidnapping your own child is not a crime in Japan, and the country’s family law is based on the tradition of sole-custody divorce, leaving noncustodial parents without legal recourse to pursue visitation rights."

&

"The United States and seven other countries are pressuring Japan to sign a treaty that would help resolve the cases by obligating Japan to comply with provisions that protect the rights of both parents.

But even if the country adopts the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction it would not apply to the current cases, a caveat American lawmakers and diplomats aim to shore up with side agreements such as the one proposed Tuesday.

More than 100 American-Japanese children are considered abducted, 2009 State Department records show.

The U.S.-Japan Status of Forces Agreement defines how the U.S. military operates within Japan, including legal consequences for troops who break Japanese laws while stationed here."

WT - EXCLUSIVE: U.S. seeks to protect Iran terror group. Iraqis urged to keep camp.

From my archive of press clippings:

Washington Times

EXCLUSIVE: U.S. seeks to protect Iran terror group. Iraqis urged to keep camp.

By Eli Lake (Contact) Tuesday, August 4, 2009

The United States is quietly pressing Iraq not to close a camp that holds more than 3,000 members of an Iranian opposition group that served as Saddam Hussein's shock troops in 1991 when he crushed rebellions after the Gulf War and now is vulnerable to Iraqi and Iranian reprisals.

Read the whole article here.

Snippet(s):

"Last week, Iraqi police stormed Camp Ashraf outside Baghdad, killing at least seven and injuring dozens during clashes with the Mujahedeen-e Khalq, or MEK. At the time, members of a U.S. unit known as Task Force 134, which deals with prisoners of war, were present outside the compound, said two U.S. officials -- one in Washington, one in Iraq -- who asked not to be named because of the sensitivity of the issue.

A day after the raid, officials at the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad met with members of the Iraqi government to urge restraint. The next day, the U.S. Army helped medevac at least two dozen injured members of the MEK, the officials said."

"The U.S. has designated the MEK as a terrorist group for these actions and for the assassinations of six Americans in Iran before the 1979 Iranian revolution. But the U.S. nevertheless has sought to protect Camp Ashraf members -- who include women and children -- from Iraqi or Iranian attack and forced repatriation.

The camp had been under U.S. protection since the 2003 invasion of Iraq. Iraq now seeks to reassert control under the provisions of the Status of Forces Agreement signed with Washington last year.
Iraqi media have reported that the government plans to close Camp Ashraf and disperse its residents to other locations in Iraq. Such a move could make the dissidents more vulnerable to Iranian intelligence and angry Iraqi Shi'ites who lost family members in 1991."

continued

"President Clinton designated the MEK as a foreign terrorist organization. However, in 2002, the group disclosed that Iran was building a secret nuclear facility south of Tehran. The MEK also claims to have provided valuable intelligence on the Iranian regime to the U.S. military and to no longer commit acts of terrorism. Over the years, the organization has touted itself as a viable opposition movement against Iran, even though it appears to have minimal support within Iran and there is a cult of personality around the group's leader, Maryam Rajavi.

Still, the group has cultivated allies in the U.S. Congress who have pressed the State Department to remove the MEK and affiliated groups from its list of foreign terrorists."

"Raymond Tanter, a member of the National Security Council in the Reagan administration who co-founded and is president of the Iran Policy Committee -- a Washington group that advocates lifting the MEK's terrorist designation -- said Iraqi National Security Adviser Mowaffak al-Rubaie told him that Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's government intends to destroy the camp, disperse its residents and send MEK leaders to Iran. "

&

"Rep. Howard L. Berman, California Democrat and chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, and Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen of Florida, the committee's ranking Republican, issued a statement last week expressing concern about the situation at Camp Ashraf.

"The Government of Iraq signed an agreement with the United States guaranteeing the physical security and protection of Ashraf residents following the withdrawal of U.S. forces from the area," the statement said. "The Iraqi government must live up to its commitment to ensure the continued well-being of those living in Ashraf and prevent their involuntary return to Iran.""

S&S - Children of fallen troops will be allowed to stay in stateside DOD schools

From my archive of press clippings:

Stars and Stripes


Children of fallen troops will be allowed to stay in stateside DOD schools


By Jeff Schogol, Stars and Stripes

Stars and Stripes online edition, Thursday, May 14, 2009


ARLINGTON, Va. — Children of fallen troops can continue attending Defense Department schools in the United States all the way through high school, the Department of Defense Education Activity announced Thursday evening.

Read the whole article here.

Snippet(s):

"Under the old policy, children of the fallen could remain in Domestic Dependent Elementary and Secondary Schools until the transition from elementary to middle school or middle school to high school, according to a DODEA news release. "

"The new policy does not affect children in Department of Defense Dependents Schools, who move back to the United States after the loss of a loved one, said DODEA spokeswoman Connie Gillette."

&

"If the spouse of a fallen servicemembers can stay overseas per the terms of a Status of Forces Agreement, his or her children can continue to attend DODDS schools tuition-free on a “space-available basis,” Miles said. "

S&S - Little-known rules govern working off base. Family in South Korea drops modeling due to SOFA.

From my archive of press clippings:

Stars and Stripes

Little-known rules govern working off base

Family in South Korea drops modeling due to SOFA

By Teri Weaver, Stars and Stripes


Pacific edition, Sunday, March 15, 2009

Teri Weaver / S&S
Andrea Stone with her two daughters, Faith, 4, left, and Abby, 9. Last year, Faith began modeling for a South Korean modeling agency; the family decided to stop when they couldn't figure out whether they were violating their visa or whether they needed to pay local taxes.

SEOUL — Last May, a South Korean woman approached Andrea Stone and her three kids on Yongsan Garrison and asked if she’d ever considered letting the children model.

Read the whole article here.

Snippet(s):

"The offer intrigued the family, and soon the youngest Stone, 4-year-old Faith, was modeling children’s wear for print ads about once a month."

"But as the U.S. tax season drew nearer, Stone and her husband, Staff Sgt. Joe Stone, began to wonder what to do about that South Korean income, which over time amounted to about $1,000.

They had called the legal office on Yongsan to try to learn the rules about children earning money in South Korea. One person said it was fine; a second person said it wasn’t, Andrea Stone remembered. In the end, she thought the whole process must be all right"

&

"(T)he Stones’ experience wasn’t all right, according to an 8-year-old agreement between South Korea and the United States.

The Stones, like all families of servicemembers and Pentagon workers in South Korea, live under the Status of Forces Agreement."

S&S - S. Korea mulls fingerprint plan

Stars and Stripes

S. Korea mulls fingerprint plan

By T.D. Flack and Hwang Hae-rym, Stars and Stripes

Pacific edition, Sunday, January 4, 2009

South Korea’s Ministry of Justice has proposed a plan to fingerprint all foreigners entering the country, but remains undecided whether members of the U.S. military community will be exempt.

Read the whole article here.

Snippet(s):

"The ministry will submit the revised immigration law to the National Assembly.

If approved, fingerprinting will begin in 2010, spokesman Lee Ki-heum confirmed last week.

Lee said no final decision has been made on whether U.S. military community personnel who fall under the status of forces agreement would be exempt when traveling into the country, as they are in nearby Japan."