Posted on 12/08/2006 10:27:04 AM PST by jmc1969
Former White House advisers to George H.W. Bush are keenly disappointed and concerned about the current President Bush's initial reaction to the report by the Iraq Study Group.
They consider him rather dismissive of the group's conclusions, issued yesterday, which include the view that current Iraq policy is failing. The group recommends a variety of important changes, such as assigning U.S. troops to play more of an advisory and training role and less of a combat role. The ISG also recommends that the United States withdraw most of its combat brigades by early 2008 and that the administration increase diplomatic efforts, including starting talks with Iran and Syria and energetically working toward an Israeli-Palestinian solution.
Adding to the unease were President Bush's comments at his Thursday news conference with British Prime Minister Tony Blair, in which he avoided commenting on specifics in the ISG report.
"We have a classic case of circling the wagons," says a former adviser to Bush the elder. "If President Bush changes his policy in Iraq in a fundamental way, it undermines the whole premise of his presidency. I just don't believe he will ever do that."
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
Read James Baker as one of the advisers.
This is the bunch who failed to handle Saddam in the 1980s. They used him to checkmate the Iranians, with whom we were engaged in a naval war of sorts in the Gulf. Then when he began to make demands on Kuwait, to get a better access to the sea, and on the Gulf states to get him a higher price for his oil, they failed to keep him from marching into Kuwait. The Other Gulf states were, of course, scared s......, and we were forced to bring all our force to bear in the Gulf to "maintain the balance of power" in the Gulf. Then we failed to make him live to the terms of his surrender.
Excellent. The President politely told the Iraq Surrender Group to go and pound sand, since he refused any of the surrender terms in the report.
W's reaction is making me feel better.
Go Bush!
I was just thinking the same thing. Man oh man, and about time, too!
The Iraq Study Group pulled some all-nighters and came up with an 'F' report! ;-)
F is right! LOL!!!
;-)
As in F word.
Whoa!
Hey, I'm a year older and wiser.
Hey, bubba! There's a WAR goin' on! STHU, Tokyo Rose.
Kudos and congrats! ;-)
Hahaha, thanks.
Ya think?
Becki
Well, fortunately the USSR was disintegrating at the time, and the islamofascists were just getting on their feet. Saddam provided entertaining TV drama with his largely useless "third largest army in the world." Given the times, and aside from Desert Storm, doing nothing but bloviating at our friends was probably the best policy.
Fair enough. I think that Bush the elder was a lot smarter than his advisors. IT is still up to the PResidetn to come down with a final dcision. the current President surrounds himself with varying opinions from all sides and does what he beleive is best.
Same here. I would be worried if he had embraced them.
Look at 'em, leaking already...LOL...
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