Posted on 11/30/2006 2:36:59 PM PST by Ernest_at_the_Beach
By Jon Leyne
It was billed as a crisis meeting at a crucial time in Iraq's history - although you would never have guessed, watching a disarmingly relaxed President Bush field questions afterwards.
There was certainly no hint that his project to spread democracy across the Middle East was in the tiniest bit of trouble.
"There are reports from Washington that we are looking for a graceful exit," said Mr Bush. "But we will stay until the job is done."
As for reports that the White House is losing confidence in Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Maliki, Mr Bush would have none of it. The Iraqi prime minister was a strong leader, "the right guy for Iraq," insisted Mr Bush.
It is hard to believe it was all quite so cordial behind the scenes.
The day before the two leaders met, the New York Times ran a leaked memo from White House National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley, which contained a withering analysis of Mr Maliki. The Iraqi leader, said the memo, was "a leader who wanted to be strong but was having difficulty figuring out how to do so".
The analysis was doubly damning: the fact that this was the opinion at the White House, but also that somebody senior decided to leak it to the press.
It has all fuelled speculation that Washington has lost patience with the Iraqi prime minister.
Black and white
And all the while, Mr Maliki was being undermined back home, as supporters of radical Shia cleric Moqtada Sadr suspended participation in the government because of the meeting with President Bush.
The White House would like the Iraqi leader to take a tougher line, to crack down on Shia militias connected with the government.
The impression is that the president still believes his own rhetoric about 'staying the course'
There are daily horror stories of their activities. One militia has even taken over the health ministry. It can be a very dangerous place to visit.
But publicly at least, President Bush is offering his support, taking every opportunity at the news conference to boost the standing of the Iraqi prime minister.
All of this comes while Washington undertakes a comprehensive review of its strategy. A bi-partisan commission led by former Secretary of State James Baker will report in a week. Sources close to the group say they will suggest a pullback of US troops to their bases, but no firm timetable for a pullout.
President Bush is conducting his own separate review of policy. As he made clear again in Jordan, there is no certainty that he will accept the recommendations of the Baker commission, or anyone else. The impression is that the president still believes his own rhetoric about "staying the course". Once again here in Jordan, Mr Bush painted this struggle in black and white terms, good against evil. If he is being urged now to accept compromises and develop a new policy that reflects the increasingly complex nature of the war in Iraq, it is going to be a very hard sell.
|
Watched the news conference in the late hours and the President was STRONG!
Bump to that.
I do like this statement....
A steadfast commitment to principles is a VERY HARD thing to beat.
The Dems can whine, cry, complain, and even threaten to cut funds but the reality is, that if they do ANYTHING that disrupts the process, they will take the blame for it.
Video of Iraqi citizens clinging to helicopter landing gear from the top of the US Embassy is something they do not want to live with for the next 30 years.
I did as well and you're correct that he was strong. I don't believe the MSM expected that.
I managed to stay up and caught the entire press conference first chance to comment on it.
He and the PM done good, real good.
Of course, the media idiots were clueless that they were handed their arses in a sack, imo, but what else is new?
Good luck to Maliki and the Iraqi people.
Re-play in a few minutes:
C-SPAN
06:13 PM EST
0:38
Statement
U.S.-Iraq Relations
White House Travel, Foreign Trip
George W. Bush , United States
Nouri Al-Maliki , Iraq
Well if the President was strong, then you can bet the MSM will will be particularly vile in their response- waiting for Chris Matthews and Keith Olberman to blow a gasket over this. http://sacredscoop.com
Does the reporter realize what he's really saying here? "It was billed" means simply that the media have declared this a crisis, and "you'd never know it" means that Bush hasn't gone along like, oh, like < media gush > everybody who's anybody has. < /gush > They haven't stopped there. Since the media - I mean the Democratic party - victory in the polls they've been variously describing Iraq as a civil war or an outright loss, a verdict that must mystify the troops who are actually there.
I get the impression the media have decided that the upshot of the election is that they really can declare their own reality and make it stick. They're in for a real disappointment.
Watched the news conference in the late hours and the President was STRONG!
He is a great leader. He is made out of the same stuff some of the greatest were made.
What the heck does this mean?
Disarmingly relaxed?
Maybe it's just one of those wacky British terms.
I did, too. And, I agree.
I'm hoping Baker's in for a humiliating surprise.
Great graphic, AW. It just got ripped off. :-)
It doesn't seem to have bothered them for the last 30 years.
A decent report here,....surprising!
Iraq Study Group won't rock the boat ~ ~ a Helen Thomas Editorial....
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.