Hmmm...
Posted on 11/23/2004 10:33:07 AM PST by areafiftyone
Jack Straw tonight hailed a new mood of international unity on Iraq after a gathering of key foreign ministers endorsed the elections set for January 30.
"It shows that there is a real desire in the Arab world and key countries in the international community to look forward and not back and to see this is now a shared problem," the Foreign Secretary said. The conference was attended by many of the leading critics of the US-led war in Iraq, including France, Germany, Russia, Iran and Syria. Present were the representatives of 20 nations, including Iraq's six neighbors, and bodies such as the Group of Eight, the European Union and the Arab League, who came to this Red Sea resort to discuss Iraq's future. The conference rebuffed calls from France and some Arab states to set a deadline for withdrawing the US-led forces. But the final communique, which was approved unanimously, said pointedly that their mandate was "not open-ended." The communique condemned "all acts of terrorism in Iraq," referring particularly to the kidnappings and assassinations of foreign and Iraqi civilians, aid workers, diplomats and journalists. It urged the interim government to deal firmly with terrorists, but also to avoid hurting civilians. British officials hope that the support of countries like Iran and Syria for the declaration will demonstrate to insurgents in Iraq that the international community is now united by the political process that is under way. Mr Straw rejected suggestions that the elections would lead to more violence, although he acknowledged that there remained serious concerns over security. "If we get through the elections, far from being a catalyst for more violence, they will put us on the road to a reduction in violence," he said. "It is still going to be difficult. There is a big security challenge, particularly in the central area of Iraq." He was backed by the foreign minister in Iraq’s interim government, Hoshyar Zebari. "We are sending a clear message to the Iraqi people that the member states and multinational organisations of the international community stand together, and firmly behind us, in our efforts to move Iraq along the path towards democratic elections," he said. However Kofi Annan, the United Nations Secretary General, warned that it was important to bring the "broadest possible spectrum of Iraqi opinion" into the political process, amid fears of a boycott by Sunni Muslims. Meanwhile British troops today co-operated with US and Iraqi forces in Iraq in a rare joint operation aimed at clearing out centres of unrest south of Baghdad. |
Imagine that, is this a good sign or what?
Recognize that several of the states at this meeting have absolutely no compunction about manipulating the media in the western world and zero intention of following up on their words.
Translation: Syria and Iran, being the primary source of the salamikazes causing trouble in Iraq, are beginning to fear what happens to them after we put down the bastards in Iraq.
http://www.turkishpress.com/news.asp?ID=34316
And in a related story, Jordan says the elections must include all Iraqi cities, since "what is sacred is the democratic process."
Has Jordan ever had an election?
I wonder what (or who) we gave up to convince Syria and Iran to speak up against the insurgency.
I wonder what (or who) we gave up to convince Syria and Iran to speak up against the insurgency.
It is nice to know that the French aren't going to throw us out of Iraq, though...
Hmmm...
Yeah, now that the "insurgency" is getting its ass handed to it, and now that they know they are next on the list, we better come out against this thing.
This would be the 14th time Iran and Syria have denounced the acts of the terrorists.
It will soon be followed by the 15th cry of "death to America" and the 15th escalation of support to the terrorists.
My guess is it went something like this..." "You may have noticed the disappearance of a building in Damascus/Tehran last night. If you would like additional free demo services keep letting Fallah, Allah and Kallah out to destabilize Iraq."
Kofi reminds me of the muppet heckler, always making worthless comments from the bleachers:
While I have my doubts about their sincerity another translation of this progress is simply: Bush won!
The show in Iraq seems to be run out of Syria. It's due for a cleaning in the second term IMHO.
It is truly remarkable how Bush has changed the discussion about the Middle East to democracy. The Lord helped by calling Aarafat home, too.
Now is this interesting.........
AMAZING. Bush's courage to withstand the vitriol is paying off.
But after crying "impossible", "quagmire", "Strong Insugency", and "vietnam" the liberals will resort to their post-cold war, tried and true rhetoric once democracy spreads in Iraq and elsewhere.
In two years, they will say Middle east peace and democracy was inevitible, Saddam was losing control, the Iraqi people weren't the type cut out for insurgency anyway, Clinton deserves the lions share of credit for getting the ball rolling, etc, etc. All to steer any credit away from the solitary political leader who had the balls to make it happen, GWB.
Just as liberals deny that Reagan had much to do with toppling the USSR.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.