A BBC interview with Iraqi Prime MInister Nouri Maliki (runs 20 minutes) that comes highly recommended, via Mario Loyola ;
The encouraging thing here is how convincingly Maliki talks about imposing "the authority of the state," and he shows a pretty nuanced view of the danger the militias pose outside state control, and the role they can play if properly regulated. He also makes a point I had never thought of, which is that the United States and the Coalition have an obligation under Security Council resolutions to maintain security in Iraq until Iraqi security forces can take over. And by the way, he has every intention of seeing Saddam hang before the end of the year.
Go to this page for the link.
Sounds like the beginnings of governmental puberty. Maybe Iraq will grow into a self sustaining government yet.
The democrats have never said anything about all the coalition forces in Iraq. What do they do if the US pulls out. Are they to stay and possibly win over there. It is a blackeye for the US regardless of what they do. Again the dems and media will be known for their cut and run attitude, and the defeat of america. It is way past time for politicans to quit fighting wars and let the military do it, and dam the torpedeos. The biggest shock to the media and dems will be that america is still hated around the world, after they cut and run. 2008 should be interesting. Everything that goes wrong now will be blamed on the democrats. After Jan, GWB will be home free.
MaryT:
Hate to be a negative nellie, but should the terrorists mount another attack on U.S. soil even AFTER the U.S. pulls out of Iraq, the Dems and the MSM will STILL blame George W., citing the hostility he aroused in the Muslim world (yeah, right) that the brave Democrats are trying to eliminate (good luck). Until the terrorist threat is crushed, and Iraq is a functioning democracy, George will never be home free. Wish it wasn't so.
When the US is attacked in 2012, or later, it will of course be GWB's fault. The dems are already having problems picking their chairmanships, with Pelosi's hate for Harman the first round. Imagine Biden saying he would divide Iraq into 3 areas. Who thinks anyone will listen to him over there. Think of 3 quebecs in Canada.
Has anyone researched that security council resolution re staying until Iraq is stabilized.
right on mary...get the damn politicians out of any tactical/strategic decision making loop...once u decide on war, let the pro's do their jobs....none of these half-assed measures that end up costing lives....their is no place for wishy/washy, bleeding heart sentiment on the battle field.....note...could you imagine how different the outcome would have been in iraq if canadian soldiers took the lead into baghdad, pipers piping, colors flying.....it would be a peaceful democracy by now...just a thought.....GO ARMY
Tower: "Hate to be a negative nellie"
Negative nellie's don't notice much other than their negative navels. GWB got his November spanking. Americans are now watching for what the dems will do with their new control. If an attack on american soil happens during predictable WOT waffling by the dems, it won't play well even on CNN.
It's hard to imagine Iraq continuing as a unified country regardless of the how long the troops stay in that country. Civil Wars like the one that Iraq is experiencing tend to end in either the subjugation of one side by the other or breakup. The former seems unlikely and the latter is already a partial fact (kurdistan is effectively a nation in all but name).
The notion that Iraq will become a secular pro-western democracy is a complete joke at this stage. The Shia controlled areas are effectively a theocracy. Try telling christian women in Baghdad who wear hibabs in public about their constiutional rights.
The interview leaves me very dubious of this man's credibility. He asserts that a) he's not joined at the hip with the Mehdi army and b) that the Mehdi army is not a militia. There's plenty of evidence to A and the fact that he asserts B (a ridiculous position) just confirms it.
If this man continues to veto US forces taking appropriate action against Shia militias then it's difficult to see the civil war from being stopped.
Did you not see the video of Maliki greeting and kissing Ahmandinejad on both cheeks.
It may be tradition but the enthusiasm was obvious.
Looks to me as though Bush has had enough and is turning Iraq over to Shiia control in the hopes for some measure of law and order.
Once it calms down, there will be an opportunity to pull out troops.
Guess it*s a case of the devil you know, but I see it as * Dereliction of Duty. *
Bush lost ground in recent elections and this is no time to pull punches once again because the foothold that allows the Mufsiduns is too high a price to pay for winning US elections two years away.
This would cement the label of * Paper Tiger * on the USA permanently.
This should not be allowed to happen and if the EU and N. American liberal left had a clear picture of what is to come, it would never happen. = TG
Did you not see the video of Maliki greeting and kissing Ahmandinejad on both cheeks.
It may be tradition but the enthusiasm was obvious.
Looks to me as though Bush has had enough and is turning Iraq over to Shiia control in the hopes for some measure of law and order.
Once it calms down, there will be an opportunity to pull out troops.
Guess it*s a case of the devil you know, but I see it as * Dereliction of Duty. *
Bush lost ground in recent elections and this is no time to pull punches once again because the foothold that allows the Mufsiduns is too high a price to pay for winning US elections two years away.
This would cement the label of * Paper Tiger * on the USA permanently.
This should not be allowed to happen and if the EU and N. American liberal left had a clear picture of what is to come, it would never happen. = TG
I hit post only once. When post is pressed, the comments page fails to change or clear, so going back to the main page and checking comments, I find there are two postings.
This is just for info. Not a problem to me really. = TG
Foreign policy site suggests:
Prepare to Bomb Iran.
[Not very diplomatic}
Make no mistake, President Bush will need to bomb Iran’s nuclear facilities before leaving office. It is all but inconceivable that Iran will accept any peaceful inducements to abandon its drive for the bomb. Its rulers are religio-ideological fanatics who will not trade what they believe is their birthright to great power status for a mess of pottage.
Even if things in Iraq get better, a nuclear-armed Iran will negate any progress there. Nothing will embolden terrorists and jihadists more than a nuclear-armed Iran. [ and the pull-out of Nato troops = TG]
The global thunder against Bush when he pulls the trigger will be deafening, and it will have many echoes at home. It will be an injection of steroids for organizations such as MoveOn.org. We need to pave the way intellectually now and be prepared to defend the action when it comes.
In particular, we need to help people envision what the world would look like with a nuclear-armed Iran. Apart from the dangers of a direct attack on Israel or a suitcase bomb in Washington, it would mean the end of the global nonproliferation regime and the beginning of Iranian dominance in the Middle East.
This defense should be global in scope. There is a crying need in today’s ideological wars for something akin to the Congress for Cultural Freedom of the Cold War, a global circle of intellectuals and public figures who share a devotion to democracy. The leaders of this movement might include Tony Blair, Vaclav Havel, and Anwar Ibrahim.
http://www.foreignpolicy.com/story/cms.php?story_id=3602
The informed Conservatives must face up to an unpleasant task ahead.
Mainstream media has failed to properly inform the EU and N. American public and so Bush plans to leave Iraq in the hands of Malik who plans to install an iron-fisted Iran / Persian Shiia control force over Iraq. This will allow the troops to leave but this * pulled punch *, the last in a series, will label the USA a *Paper Tiger* who cuts and runs.
The real problem however is the powerful rush it gives to OBL, the Taliban and Al Qaeda. This is exactly the Terrorist Homeland that OBL promised to establish in Iraq / the Middle East.
This is all too obvious to us in the conservative Web corner , but all too invisible to the vast and unaware left liberal populations of N. America and the EU.
Bush is failing to LEAD with confidence. Reagan would explain the true and urgent picture to the world through a televised address. I expect President Bush to do that before it*s too late. = TG
"This is all too obvious to us in the conservative Web corner , but all too invisible to the vast and unaware left liberal populations of N. America and the EU."
Ummm we've known about the idea for quite some time now. It's a stupid idea which fortunately isn't going to happen.
Jose: "It's hard to imagine Iraq continuing as a unified country"
Hard to imagine America remaining a unified country in 1860. Hard to imagine a re-unified Germany in 1984 with Pershing II's and cruise missiles moving into the uber-countryside. Hard to imagine that Canada would still be unified in 2006 right after the '95 referendum.
You can leave imagining positive stuff to the Lincoln's, Reagan's and Harper's of the world (the guts of the Clarity Act originated with Harper).
You've got plenty of imagination for negative outcomes, it's just too much effort for you to imagine positive ones. No need to break a nail, Jose. Iggy Popquiz could use a bright light like you to help peddle his controlled soft breakup of Canada. That maybe something you can imagine.