Posted on 11/29/2006 10:36:19 AM PST by STARWISE
President Bush and Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki will be putting off their meeting by one day, the White House said Wednesday.
The delay comes after the high-stakes summit was marred by public disclosure of U.S. doubts about al-Maliki's capacity to control sectarian violence and a walkout of Iraq's coalition government by 30 parliamentarians loyal to radical anti-American cleric Muqtada al-Sadr.
Five Cabinet ministers and 30 lawmakers suspended their participation in Parliament saying their action was necessary because the meeting in Jordan constituted a "provocation to the feelings of the Iraqi people and a violation of their constitutional rights." Their statement did not explain that claim.
"The reality on the streets of Baghdad suggests Maliki is either ignorant of what is going on, misrepresenting his intentions, or that his capabilities are not yet sufficient to turn his good intentions into action," the Times quoted the memo as saying.
Al-Maliki and Bush are meeting in Amman, the Jordanian capital, Wednesday and Thursday in a summit aimed at halting Iraq's escalating sectarian violence and paving the way for a reduction of American troops.
"We are sticking to our position. ... The boycott is still valid," Falih Hassan, a Sadrist legislator, said in an interview with The Associated Press. "Bush is a criminal who killed a lot of Iraqis and we do not want him to interfere in Iraq's affairs. The Iraqi government should negotiate with the U.N. Security Council, not with the leader of the country that is occupying Iraq."
(snip)
The Security Council responded to a request from al-Maliki, who said a top government priority is to assume full responsibility for security and stability throughout Iraq but that it needs more time.
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
I have no clue what the agendae truly are of any of those Iraq Study Group members. The Pentagon also has an investigation ongoing, and I think there's a third. I'm just sayin' .... it's beyond shocking that something apparently so top secret as a memo from the President's National Security advisor is leaked .. and to a reporter, and one at the Slimes, the one organ only too gleeful to destroy W and success in Iraq any way they can.
You're on that path .. without me.
LOL
Democracy is a great idea, but you don't force a country to have elections that isn't ready for them.
If Allawi was put in office from day one instead of Bremer Iraq would look very very very different today and even though they might not have held elections yet it would be far more on the path to democracy then any other Middle Eastern country instead of being mired in murder and militia warfare.
curiosity, thanks for a note of confidence. Unfortunately I am not the keeper of even a pseudo-official pinglist. Some of the copied FRiends have a compendium of lists that are pertinent. I will be happy to add you to add you to a list of musings and observations if you like ;)
Sulzberger is making big money publishing secret documents. He should be residing at Club Fed.
Who is the major stock holder in the New York Times?
I know what you mean, I have to read the postings of idiot non-neocons.
what numbers are you looking at, we had over 80KIA:
11/2003, 4/2004, 9/2004, 11/2004, 1/2005, 8/2005, 10/2005, 11/2005, 10/2006
and
12/2004 (72), 5/2005 (79), 6/2005 (77), 4/2006 (74)
http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/ops/iraq_casualties.htm
I don't want to be accused of sacrilege around here ... but I think the memo about Maliki was leaked INTENTIONALLY by the White House as a way of letting everyone know W was unhappy with him.
And ... like so many things it backfired. We now have the spectacle of the President of the United States being blown off. And this happened while Bush was in the air headed for the meeting ...
Israel can take care itself just fine, thank you. Besides I don't think that's in the cards, American won't desert Israel ... it's too much part of the national psyche.
Besides, right now American's actions have emboldened Iran and that is bad for Israel. So maybe they can do with less of our help.
That's it in a nutshell. Thanks oceanview for conceptualizing this so succintly.
Speaking of realism ... the most realistic attitude is now a reappraisal of Bush. I believe is well-intentioned, but the results of his policies will make it harder for conservative agenda.
I think oceanview is referring to the fact that things are getting worse over there. You can't average the entire time, but instead look at the trend line.
Here's a link with all the relevant data re: security indicators, fatalities, insurgent estimated numbers, etc.
http://www.brookings.edu/fp/saban/iraq/index.pdf
Absolutely ... this whole thing is a disaster. If they couldn't hold the meeting in Baghdad, they should have invited Maliki to Crawford or something.
No excuse for that! Even if the airport can't be secured. Someone should have gone.
No excuse for that! Even if the airport can't be secured. Someone should have gone.
No excuse for that! Even if the airport can't be secured. Someone should have gone.
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