Word: memorandum
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...withdrawal of forces. "Today, we are looking at the necessity of terminating the foreign presence on Iraqi lands and restoring full sovereignty," al-Maliki said during a meeting with several Arab ambassadors in the United Arab Emirates. "The current trend is to reach an agreement on a memorandum of understanding either of the departure of the forces or a memorandum of understanding to put a timetable on their withdrawal." The announcement raised eyebrows among security planners and analysts around the world. Was it posturing? Or was al-Maliki diverging from his American ally? Or both...
...rival. Between that and a tighter grip on Shi'ite support, the Prime Minister and his men have no reason to admit that the timetable is mere posturing. On Tuesday, Iraq's national security advisor Mowaffaq al-Rubaie reinforced the Prime Minister's statement. "We can't have a memorandum of understanding with foreign forces unless it has dates and clear horizons determining the departure of foreign forces. We're unambiguously talking about their departure," he told reporters in Najaf after a meeting with the Grand Ayatullah Ali al-Sistani, Iraq's top Shi'ite religious authority. It would indeed...
...Well, sir, I essentially told him that his memorandum was wrong," I said. "I guess he didn't like that...
...done exactly the same thing, only this time he had prepared a written memorandum documenting his denials. So it was clearly a pattern on the Secretary's part, and now I recognized it. Bring in the top-level leaders. Profess total ignorance. Ask why he had not been informed. Try to establish that others were screwing things up. Have witnesses in the room to verify his denials. Put it in writing. In essence, Rumsfeld was covering his rear. He was setting up his chain of denials should his actions ever be questioned. And worse yet, in my mind...
...Upon returning to Germany, I had some very long discussions with my wife, especially about Rumsfeld's offer of a possible high-paying job in the Department of Defense. "I'm not sure I want to pursue something like that," I said. "But given my reaction to Rumsfeld's memorandum, he now knows that I'm not going to play along. So I don't think he'll pursue...