The Iraqi government, fearful of what Obama might do in terms of precipitous U.S. troop withdrawals, just rushed approval of a longer-term security pact between Iraq and the United States—-which would keep the United States in Iraq through the end of 2011.
Key revisions on sovereignty issues, demanded by Iraq and accepted by the US during months of fractious negotiations, led Iraq’s highest-ranking Shiite religious figure, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, to indicate over the weekend he would not object to the sweeping deal. Although the pact has experienced pockets of resistance, many Iraqis say the victory of US President-elect Barack Obama was a factor because of his promise to withdraw troops within 16 months of taking office.
Also a factor to an agreement is to maintain some political stability since a United Nations mandate, under which US forces currently operate, expires at the end of this year.
What is Barack-nophobia? Monica Crowley defines it like this:
Barack-nophobia: Noun. Fear of what a President Obama might do. Symptoms and signs: high anxiety, palpitations, selling of assets before he can tax them into non-existence, depression, fatigue, excessive sleeping or insomnia, excessive consumption of refined sugar products, cold sweats, and generalized nervousness.
related links: Barack-nophobia | Iraqi cabinet votes to keep US troops
