Today Liberation became Occupation

The jig is up.

We are occupying Iraq from now on.

Our soldiers will never come home.

The United States on Tuesday rejected a demand from Iraq for a specific date for pullout of US-led foreign troops from the country, saying any withdrawal will be based on conditions on the ground.

"The US government and the government of Iraq are in agreement that we, the US government, we want to withdraw, we will withdraw. However, that decision will be conditions-based," State Department spokesman Gonzalo Gallegos said.

Iraq said on Tuesday it will reject any security pact with the United States unless it sets a date for the pullout of US-led troops.

AFP

The Bush administration is trying to get its way in usual fashion, through secret negotiation with people who are not really in charge. That isn't going over well with Iraq's leadership.

"The current trend is to reach an agreement on a memorandum of understanding either for the departure of the forces or to put a timetable on their withdrawal," Mr al-Maliki said during a visit to the United Arab Emirates. He rejected efforts by Mr Bush to hurry through an agreement on vital issues such as the immunity of US troops in Iraq and use of the country’s airspace. Mr Bush had hoped to sign a Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) by the end of July to establish the basis for a long-term presence of US troops in the country.

The Iraqi parliament has bridled at pushing through such a binding deal with the outgoing and unpopular Bush Administration, saying that the negotiations have been secretive and could undermine Iraq’s sovereignty. "I don’t know anything about this agreement and neither does parliament," said Ezzedine Dawla, a Sunni MP. "We’re going to pass something we don’t know anything about."

Times UK

The myth of liberation of Iraq officially ended today.

We are now occupiers, and it really always was about oil, as 11 million people who protested across the world in 2003 warned.

UPDATE: TV catches on.