Photo of Senator Graham with his brother.
Posted on 10/23/2006 3:14:21 PM PDT by West Coast Conservative
Under election-year pressure to change course in Iraq, the Bush administration said Monday there are no plans for dramatic shifts in policy or for ultimatums to Baghdad to force progress.
Just two weeks before the Nov. 7 elections that will determine whether Republicans retain control of Congress, the White House tried to calm political anxieties about deteriorating security in Iraq. Both Democratic and Republican lawmakers are calling on President Bush to change his war plan.
"We're on the verge of chaos, and the current plan is not working," Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said in an Associated Press interview. U.S. and Iraqi officials should be held accountable for the lack of progress, said Graham, a Republican who is a frequent critic of the administration's policies.
Asked who in particular should be held accountable _ Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, perhaps, or the generals leading the war _ Graham said: "All of them. It's their job to come up with a game plan" to end the violence
Rumsfeld, in remarks at the Pentagon, said U.S. government and military officials were working with Iraq to set broad time frames for when Iraqis can take over 16 provinces that are still under the control of U.S. troops. He said officials were not talking about penalizing the Iraqis if they don't hit certain benchmarks.
The Iraqis have taken control of two southern provinces but have been slow to take the lead in others, particularly those around Baghdad and in the volatile regions north and west of the capital city. Rumsfeld said specific target dates probably will not be set. Instead, he said there might be a broader time frame _ such as a one- to three-month window _ for the Iraqis to take control of certain provinces.
Rumsfeld visited the White House early Monday with Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Rumsfeld said the United States was looking at when the Iraqis would move close to setting up a reconciliation process to help quell worsening sectarian violence between Sunnis and Shiites.
Frustration with the war is eroding support in Republican as well as Democratic camps.
Joseph Biden, the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said two Republicans have told him they will demand a new policy in Iraq after the election. Biden declined to name the GOP lawmakers. He said Republicans have been told not to make waves before the election because it could cost the party seats. Yet some prominent GOP lawmakers have expressed doubts about Bush's policy.
White House press secretary Tony Snow said the United States was continually adjusting its strategy in Iraq.
"In that sense there are new things going on. But are there dramatic shifts in policy? The answer is no," Snow said.
"There is still a very large to-do list before Iraq is in a position to sustain, govern and defend itself," he said.
"Are we issuing ultimatums? No."
He acknowledged, however, that Bush no longer is saying that the United States will "stay the course" in Iraq.
"He stopped using it," Snow said of that phrase, adding that it left the impression that the administration was not adjusting its strategy to realities in Baghdad.
Showing progress in Iraq is critical with the approaching elections, which are widely viewed as a referendum on public support of the war. In Baghdad on Tuesday, Zalmay Khalilzad, the U.S. ambassador to Iraq, and Gen. George Casey, the top U.S. commander there, are scheduled to hold a rare joint news conference.
Facing growing impatience with Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's failure to stem the carnage, Deputy Prime Minister Barham Saleh said international forces must not abandon Iraq while the situation there remains volatile.
"I do believe there is no option for the international community to cut and run," he told reporters after meeting Prime Minister Tony Blair in London. He said Iraqis and the international community need to be realistic, "but not defeatist."
"We need to understand that there is a need of utmost urgency to deal with many of the problems of Iraq but we must not give in to panic," he said.
We have a real good man (Conservative) waiting in the wings. We won't be fooled again!
No attacks on US Embassies or naval ships either. During the Clinton Administration, there were attacks on the US an average of every two years. Since 9/11, the US has not been attacked anywhere in the world.
NOT what you think...Dumb Ignornt Kook is what I meant to say....leave very soon please we can do without you mr. Senator...
Sweet Lindsey and The "14 Gangsters".
Somehow, I do not think the democrats will put up with the "14 Gangsters" if they take control of the senate as Bill Frist did.
Lindsey, boy are you a sucker.
my question is do you disagree with the Senator or do you feel things are under control?
_________________
Do you agree that the chaos on our streets here in the US is greater than the chaos in Iraq?
Iraq is in "near chaos. Chaos is the normal state of Iraq. It is only "near" chaos because U. S. troops are there. Withdraw the troops now and Iraq will go into deep chaos.
A change of tactics is called for because of the change in the nature of the war. Our troops should be pulled back into a section of Iraq and let our naval and air forces reduce Iraq to glassy sand.
Then we should occupy the oil fields and operate them under a U.S. protectorate. Then we should get out in a way that protects our troop's withdrawal.
Forget democracy. Iraq, lile the rest of the Middle East, is not ready for democracy. It will take a few hundred more years of colonialism to bring deocracy to Iraq.
But no one wants the job.
As far as Iran is concerned we should conduct what the Marines call a "Pre-Dawn Vertical Insertion," and jam a few nukes around the nuclear sites being built for the Iranians by Germany, France, or whoever.
Harsh? Yes. But we didn't start it.
It's tough to be a Texan down here! However, as I voted this morning, I knew I was negating someone else in line's vote! Made me smile, as we chatted.. ;)
susie
I think he will be in trouble next time
I'm tired of him anyway
I think he will be in trouble next time
I'm tired of him anyway
Does Lindsey still sleep on rubber sheets?
This dirtbag is up there with the rats, what a disgrace
Photo of Senator Graham with his brother.
Can we please nominate Oliveoil to run against Lindsey next time?
She has more ba11$
Tony. Ya shoulda said, "it was being twisted by dishonest leftwing elements in the media to give the impression..."
I think he will get the message next election. I also do not believe his bosom buddy can carry SC.
This bears repeating. Lindsey Graham talks like someone looped on booze. He has no self discipline.
Before VietNam we had a saying. "Partisanship stops at the water's edge." Of course, back then the assumption was that any potential antagonism would come from the opposition, not from one's own party.
How would it be if the Iraqi government headquarters were set up in a smaller town which would be easier to defend than Baghdad; and then just have fewer troops in Baghdad securing the airport and other strategic areas? At some point, the Iraqis themselves are going to have to put a stop to the thugs that are causing chaos in Baghdad. Back when Iraqis wanted fireworks, it seemed like every one of them had assault weapons to shoot into the air - so surely they would protect their own families from the thugs. Baghdad is so large and keeping it totally secure is next to impossible.
Are you saying what I have long suspected? Linsey Graham is a gay blade?
Do you consider those setting off IED's in Iraq terrorists, or enemy combatants?
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