Glenn Greenwald: About That Iraq Withdrawal ???

President Obama announced that all US troops will be withdrawn by the end of the year, and this announcement is being seized upon exactly the way you would predict: by the Right to argue that Obama is a weak, appeasing Chamberlain and by Democrats to "hail his greatness" for keeping his promise and yet again ending the War. It's obviously a good thing that these troops are leaving Iraq, but let's note three clear facts before either of these absurd narratives ossify: First, the troop withdrawal is required by an agreement which George W. Bush negotiated and entered into with Iraq, and which was ratified by the Iraqi Parliament prior to Obama's inauguration. Let's listen to the White House itself today: "This deal was cut by the Bush administration, the agreement was always that at the end of the year we would leave, an administration official said." As I said, its a good thing that this agreement is being adhered to, and one can reasonably argue that Obama's campaign advocacy for the war's end influenced the making of that agreement, but the Year End 2001 withdrawal date was agreed to by the Bush administration and codified by them in a binding agreement.