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Many Iraqis Dismiss Bush Visit As Stunt ~ Patrick Quinn spins for the Leftist MSM again
Las Vegas Sun ^ | June 13, 2006 at 16:26:3 PDT | PATRICK QUINN ASSOCIATED PRESS

Posted on 06/13/2006 9:41:20 PM PDT by Ernest_at_the_Beach

BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) -

0613dv-bush-visit Many Sunnis and even some Shiite political parties dismissed President Bush's visit to Baghdad on Tuesday as merely an attempt to associate himself with positive developments in Iraq - formation of the new government and last week's killing of the country's most feared terrorist.

Bush's trip comes at a pivotal time for new Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki as he tries to convince Iraqis the country can stand on its own and end violence if they unite behind him. But instead of bolstering that effort, the visit could push away the very Sunni Arabs whom al-Maliki is trying to court.

Some Sunnis think the success of the Bush visit can be gauged only on al-Maliki's ability to persuade the U.S. president to start pulling some of the 130,000 American troops from the country.

"We hope that al-Maliki persuades Bush to announce a timetable for the withdrawal of U.S. forces, otherwise the visit is of no relevance to Iraqis," said Zafer al-Ani, spokesman for the Iraqi Accordance Front, the main Sunni Arab partner in al-Maliki's government.

The anti-American Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr planned a demonstration for Wednesday to protest Bush's presence in the country.

"This visit carries a lot of meanings, but this visit means nothing to the Iraqi street. There will never be any benefits from such a visit and the only one to benefit from this visit is Bush himself and his troops here, not the Iraqi people," said Hassan al-Robaie, a lawmaker loyal to al-Sadr.

Baghdad University political science professor Nabil Mohammed Selim said the president's trip was a bid to show the world that he has achieved something in this country, including the killing last week of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the leader of al-Qaida in Iraq. Bush's political standing in the United States portends a difficult election for fellow Republicans in November's congressional elections.

"In fact, nothing has been achieved in Iraq, hundreds of innocent Iraqis are being killed daily because of the chaos," Selim said.

On June 28, Iraq celebrates two years since the restoration of its sovereignty. In that time it has seen some success: three governments, two elections and a referendum on a constitution.

It has also seen a catastrophic failure to restore security and, more importantly, move the country away from sectarian killing and forced relocations that threaten to divide Iraq.

In Baghdad, dozens of people are blown up, shot or beheaded by sectarian gangs every day. Islamic extremists attack liquor stores, order women not to drive and shoot men for wearing shorts. The city of 6 million has become so dangerous that al-Maliki plans to restore security by flooding its streets with 75,000 Iraqi and American troops.

Bush and U.S. Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad have made much of the fact that al-Maliki and his national unity government are the result of three years of democratic progress. But it is an experiment in Middle Eastern civics that has cost thousands of American and Iraqi lives and arguably has been outpaced by the Sunni insurgency.

"I appreciate you recognizing that the future of the country is in your hands," Bush told al-Maliki as he came to Baghdad to congratulate the prime minister for finally assembling a Cabinet six months after parliamentary elections.

He lauded al-Maliki for bringing together Shiites, Sunni Arabs, Kurds and Christians in a government he hopes will convince insurgents of its impartiality.

"You've assembled people from all parts of your country, representing different religions, different histories and traditions. And yet the Cabinet here represents the entire Iraqi people," Bush said.

But many Iraqis are already wary of the Cabinet - assembled from second and third choices to overcome sectarian objections and bearing fingerprints of the Bush administration.

Khalilzad has often commented about the active role he played in the negotiations to form the government; many of those talks took place inside his residence.

"Bush does need to reinforce Khalilzad's efforts to produce stable political compromises, include the Sunnis, talk to the 'moderate' insurgents and prepare to appoint an inclusive body to review the constitution. U.S. pressure to reach a stable compromise between factions is critical," said Anthony Cordesman, an analyst at the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies.

But al-Maliki's political future may be bleak if he fails to convince Sunnis he is not a Washington puppet and truly wants to disarm Shiite militias and death squads blamed for hundreds of killings.

---

Patrick Quinn is Chief of Southeast Europe News for The Associated Press and has reported frequently from Iraq since 2003.

--


TOPICS: Foreign Affairs; Front Page News; News/Current Events; Politics/Elections; War on Terror
KEYWORDS: iraq; patrickquinn; surprisevisit
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1 posted on 06/13/2006 9:41:24 PM PDT by Ernest_at_the_Beach
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To: All
Quinn's earlier effort:

Bush Visit May Have Downside for al-Maliki ~ Patrick Quinn spinning the Bush Visit......Barf Alert

2 posted on 06/13/2006 9:43:02 PM PDT by Ernest_at_the_Beach (History is soon Forgotten,)
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To: Ernest_at_the_Beach

Give the MSM a chance and they'll find someone who hates Bush to interview.

I wonder how many interviews they have to hold before finding the few they can use to bash the President and our country. How many positive interviews go unpublished, and unviewed by the general public because it doesn't match the agenda of the journalists and producers?

One has to wonder...


3 posted on 06/13/2006 9:43:42 PM PDT by coconutt2000 (NO MORE PEACE FOR OIL!!! DOWN WITH TYRANTS, TERRORISTS, AND TIMIDCRATS!!!! (3-T's For World Peace))
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To: Ernest_at_the_Beach

Gosh, they are shameless propagandists!!


4 posted on 06/13/2006 9:44:06 PM PDT by Pyro7480 ("If you wish to go to extremes, let it be in... patience, humility, & charity." -St. Philip Neri)
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To: Ernest_at_the_Beach

And I'll bet many more don't consider it a stunt.
These stories do get tiresome, don't they?


5 posted on 06/13/2006 9:44:51 PM PDT by Route66 (America's Main Street)
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To: Ernest_at_the_Beach

Let me know when the number of innocent civilians killed approaches the roughly 300,000 (or was the number more like 500,000?) Saddam et al killed during their reign of terror.


6 posted on 06/13/2006 9:46:29 PM PDT by hauerf
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To: Ernest_at_the_Beach
"Many Iraqis Dismiss Bush Visit As Stunt"

"Many Iraqis"?
That's like saying "many Americans" hate Bush, after talking to Kos/DU/moveon moonbats.
This is a normal Associalsitic Press non-story, in their increasinlgly desperate attempts to slow down President Bush's mojo.
7 posted on 06/13/2006 9:47:33 PM PDT by Jameison
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To: Ernest_at_the_Beach

As if we care about what the Las Vegas Sun has to say. I think I fell asleep.

:-)


8 posted on 06/13/2006 9:48:06 PM PDT by writer33 (Rush Limbaugh walks in the footsteps of giants: George Washington, Ronald Reagan and Noah Webster.)
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To: Ernest_at_the_Beach

This guy close with the Muslem Scholars?


9 posted on 06/13/2006 9:48:14 PM PDT by bnelson44 (Proud parent of a tanker! (Charlie Mike, son))
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To: Jameison
Associalsitic Press

I like that....

10 posted on 06/13/2006 9:49:09 PM PDT by Ernest_at_the_Beach (History is soon Forgotten,)
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To: Ernest_at_the_Beach

*yawn* wasdat? MSM at it again? ignore them.. *yawn*


11 posted on 06/13/2006 9:50:29 PM PDT by Cinnamon
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To: Route66

Did anyone expect anything else from traitor media?

Just wait until tomorrow. it's aready spooled up and being printed as we speak.

MSM is so predictable it's pathetic. They have the nerve to call that waste of trees/paper "news"?

This shows Bush is gutsy, and not a coward. No doubt, there are quite a few scumbag baby killing terrorists who are upset that Bush walked right past them and spat in their faces.

Why doesn't John kerry go visit the troops that he roots for? Why doesn't John Kerry do a photo-op with his terrorist friends?


12 posted on 06/13/2006 9:51:03 PM PDT by Nathan Zachary
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To: coconutt2000

I got called exactly once by a pollster..upon answering his questions, the line suddenly went dead..I can only imagine that it was unintentional as my responses surly were counted..right??


13 posted on 06/13/2006 9:51:32 PM PDT by GeorgiaDawg32 (I'm a Patriot Guard Rider..www.patriotguard.org for info)
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To: Ernest_at_the_Beach

Many Sunnis and even some Shiite political parties dismissed President Bush's visit to Baghdad on Tuesday as merely an attempt to associate himself with positive developments in Iraq - formation of the new government and last week's killing of the country's most feared terrorist.

--

Uh, so?

Is that a war crime?

It's bad enough the left doesn't respect those very institutions which protect its arse from varmints eating them alive, crap like this is passed off as worthy of note.

Thanks for posting it,, EatB


14 posted on 06/13/2006 9:52:30 PM PDT by NormsRevenge (Semper Fi - "The Road to Peace in the Middle East runs thru Damascus.")
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To: Ernest_at_the_Beach
merely an attempt to associate himself with positive developments in Iraq - formation of the new government and last week's killing of the country's most feared terrorist.

Does the writer think that these things would have happened without Bush?

15 posted on 06/13/2006 9:52:43 PM PDT by T. Buzzard Trueblood ("No one cried when Clinton spied." -Crosslake)
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To: Ernest_at_the_Beach
The Associated Press

REEKS

.

16 posted on 06/13/2006 9:52:46 PM PDT by MrCruncher
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To: writer33

The "Las Vegas Sun" is a biased, liberal, pro-illegal alien
paper.

A much better choice in Las Vegas is "The Las Vegas Review Journal" www.lvrj.com The Review-Journal is conservative, and has tons of great articles.


17 posted on 06/13/2006 9:56:09 PM PDT by july4thfreedomfoundation (Before It's Too Late, Tancredo in '08 !)
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To: Ernest_at_the_Beach
Here's another fact: Many more American's ignore leftist journalist juxtaposed to Iraqi's who believe Bush's visit was a stunt.
18 posted on 06/13/2006 9:57:30 PM PDT by armymarinemom (My sons freed Iraqi and Afghan Honor Roll students.)
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To: Ernest_at_the_Beach

Lib writers will be out in force to down play the Presidents visit just like they did with Zarq's absolutely wonderful demise.


19 posted on 06/13/2006 9:58:11 PM PDT by jazusamo (DIANA IREY for Congress, PA 12th District: Retire murtha.)
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To: Ernest_at_the_Beach
Just an attempt to associate himself with positive developments?

But it's his policy, and uh, those are his positive developments. So the "stunt" would be?

20 posted on 06/13/2006 9:58:13 PM PDT by Williams
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