Iraq is offering a deal:

“Iraq’s government, seeking protection against foreign threats and internal coups, will offer the U.S. a long-term troop presence in Iraq in return for U.S. security guarantees as part of a strategic partnership, two Iraqi officials said Monday.

The proposal, described to The Associated Press by two senior Iraqi officials familiar with the issue, is one of the first indications that the United States and Iraq are beginning to explore what their relationship might look like once the U.S. significantly draws down its troop presence.

In Washington, President Bush’s adviser on the Iraqi war, Lt. Gen. Douglas Lute, confirmed the proposal, calling it “a set of principles from which to begin formal negotiations.”

As part of the package, the Iraqis want an end to the current U.N.-mandated multinational forces mission, and also an end to all U.N.-ordered restrictions on Iraq’s sovereignty.

In a televised address Monday, Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki said his government will ask the U.N. to renew the mandate for the multinational force for one final time, with its authorization to end in 2008. He insisted that the U.N. remove all restrictions on Iraqi sovereignty.

Iraq has been living under some form of U.N. restriction since the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait in 1990, the officials said.

U.S. troops and other foreign forces operate in Iraq under a U.N. Security Council mandate, which has been renewed annually since 2003. Iraqi officials have said they want that next renewal — which must be approved by the U.N. Security Council by the end of this year — to be the last.

The two senior Iraqi officials said Iraqi authorities had discussed the broad outlines of the proposal with U.S. military and diplomatic representatives. The Americans appeared generally favorable subject to negotiations on the details, which include preferential treatment for American investments, according to the Iraqi officials involved in the discussions.

The two Iraqi officials, who are from two different political parties, spoke on condition of anonymity because the subject is sensitive. Members of parliament were briefed on the plan during a three-hour closed-door meeting Sunday, during which lawmakers loyal to radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr objected to the formula.

Preferential treatment for U.S. investors could provide a huge windfall if Iraq can achieve enough stability to exploit its vast oil resources. Such a deal would also enable the United States to maintain leverage against Iranian expansion at a time of growing fears about Tehran’s nuclear aspirations.”

A long-term US military presence in Iraq in some measure is a forgone conclusion. ¬† If for no other reason than the last few sentences of the clip tell us.¬† By our presence in Iraq we keep the pressure on Iran to behave.¬† Iran knows this and it’s why they have been trying to destabilize our presence by equipping and training insurgents.¬† Now that they have effectually failed at that due to the success of the surge, it’s in Iraq’s best interest if they keep us there.

Of course this cause mass implosions on the antiwar left as they find out that none of this offer is not only sweet to the Right, but to most of their candidates on the left.  Their big business supporters are not going to want to miss out on the winfall which will come from such an agreement.

There are all kinds of win-wins in this deal, specifically with improving our economic outlook for the future, just as it did after WWII with our presence in Europe and Asia.

At the end of the day you can’t argue with success.¬† Right now it’s military and on the horizon will come the political success.¬† All of which is bad news for Democrats who sold the country out and cursed our name with our enemies when the chips where down.¬† Now - as noted this weekend - they will be trying to take some benefit for the success they had nothing to do with and in fact abhored.

Now that it’s a daily reality they will be shifting their message from “Cut and Run” to “Let’s hang around for the Vittles”, which is not going to sit well with the uber antiwar minions who think they single-handedly brought the democrats to power in 2006.

They’re about to get their little Koolaid-Pumping Hearts Broken, and I’m buying front row seats to that show!