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 ...
Democrats.
Or Jim Baker.
time for a total purge. Fire them all now and then rehire them one by one.
Bump!
Sadr has got to go.
It should have happened years ago but the Iraqi government said no. We should not have listened to them.
Don't know but it's someone inside the administration with access to this report and he or she should be summarily shot after being waterboarded.
The fact that such a phrase exists is about all that needs to be said about the failure of our occupation in Iraq.
Arrest everyone in management and anyone at the NY Times who has had a hand in leaking classified information that has HAD grave consequences on the conduct of the WAR.
Time to make fat boy disappear.
Leaks of classified material to the Drive-By Media is considered acceptable by the Bush White House.
Thanks for the ping....this is disgusting....anything to make Bush's job harder, or impossible.
A second source indicates that the memo leak had nothing to do with it.
White House counselor Dan Bartlett denied that the move was a snub by al-Maliki or was related to the leak of a White House memo questioning the prime minister's capacity for controlling violence in Iraq.
"Absolutely not," Bartlett said." He said the king and the prime minister had met before Bush arrived from a NATO summit in Latvia. "It negated the purpose for a meeting of the three of them," Bartlett said.
Everybody piled on a couple of days ago for jumping the gun and not second-sourcing.
This was probably done at Maliki's request. Fat Boy threatened him if he met with Bush, and I think he's more concerned about Fat Boy than about Bush, unfortunately.
Welcome to the Neocon face of the Republican party. Even though the Whitehouse says the memo had nothing to do with the postponement. No due process, no investigation. Just turn on anyone inside the administration or the party. A stroke of Saganite genius.
Throw your anger toward the Justice Department. The WH doesn't control who gets charged for crimes.
Make Sadr eligible for 72 virgins ASAP
Every day al-Sadr draws breath, he gets stronger and more influential.
He should have been taken out months ago.
If the IGC doesn't take him out, WE will regret it in the near future, ala bin Laden, Sadam Hussein, et al.
al-Maliki needs the time to check in with Mookie.
Prayers that our President returns home safely.
Thank you NYT and administration mole.
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