U.S. threatens to halt services to Iraq without troop accord

For years now Democrats have argued that by threatening to pull troops from Iraq, the Iraqi government would be forced to take up more of a role in their war. Ironically, if Senator Obama is elected President, he might take office dealing with the effects of exactly the action that he and other Democrats have demanded.

U.S. threatens to halt services to Iraq without troop accord
BAGHDAD — The U.S. military has warned Iraq that it will shut down military operations and other vital services throughout the country on Jan. 1 if the Iraqi government doesn’t agree to a new agreement on the status of U.S. forces or a renewed United Nations mandate for the American mission in Iraq.

Many Iraqi politicians view the move as akin to political blackmail, a top Iraqi official told McClatchy Newspapers on Sunday.

In addition to halting all military actions, U.S. forces would cease activities that support Iraq’s economy, educational sector and other areas – “everything” – said Tariq al-Hashimi, the country’s Sunni Muslim vice president. “I didn’t know the Americans are rendering such wide-scale services.”

Al-Hashimi said that Army Gen. Ray Odierno, the top U.S. military commander in Iraq, listed “tens” of areas of potential cutoffs in a three-page letter, and he said the implied threat caught Iraqi leaders by surprise.