Office of the Independent Blogger

This might be the most significant news story of the general election campaign to date.

U.S. and Iraqi negotiators agreed to the withdrawal of U.S. combat forces by the end of 2011 and are nearing resolution of other issues, Iraqi officials said. Among the outstanding issues is whether U.S. military personnel would be subject to Iraqi law if accused of committing crimes, The Washington Post (NYSE:WPO) reported Friday.

“We have a text,” Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari said after U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice’s visit Thursday to Baghdad. Both governments must complete and approve the agreement before a U.N. mandate authorizing international military intervention in Iraq expires at the end this year.

It is a significant development for the American effort in Iraq and signifies that victory is at hand, but it also takes away Obama’s greatest weapon and wisdom (that Iraq was a mistake) and gives credence to John McCain’s greatest claim (that he knows foreign policy and was right to stand by the War in Iraq). This move effectively removes Iraq from the discussion except for McCain to say “I told you so!” and allows McCain to attack Obama’s flank on economic issues. “Tax Man,” as Laura Ingraham was saying on Fox News tonight.

This entry was posted on Friday, August 22nd, 2008 at 10:05 pm and is filed under Outside Retort (Current Affairs).