Posted on 12/10/2006 11:08:28 PM PST by MadIvan
Iraq yesterday rejected recommendations that America aim to pull its forces out of the country by early 2008, saying such a move would be an "insult" to the Iraqi people.
Jalal Talabani, Iraq's president, firmly denounced proposals in the Iraq Study Group to scale down the war effort. His comments came as Donald Rumsfeld, the outgoing US defence secretary, made his final visit to the country.
President Talabani also angrily accused the report's co-author, former secretary of state James Baker, of attempting to restore Sunni Muslim power with the report's suggestion that Saddam Hussein's Ba'ath Party loyalists be offered positions of power.
He said: "We smell in this report the attitude of James Baker. We see this as an insult to the people of Iraq."
The report, presented by Mr Baker and former Democratic congressman Lee Hamilton, urged more centralised control of Iraq's oil wealth and embedding thousands more US advisers in Iraq's security forces to quicken their training. "It asks that they put foreign officers in every unit, which is a violation of Iraq's sovereignty... What will remain of our sovereignty?" the president said.
America did not have the right to demand concessions from the Iraqi authorities in return for its co-operation, he went on. "This is not within their authority or their powers, to set these things for the Iraqi people. Iraq is a sovereign state. The report has a mentality that we are a colony where they impose their conditions and neglect our independence."
In an interview in Bahrain, Iraq's foreign minister Hoshyar Zebari also lashed out at the ISG report, telling The Daily Telegraph it threatened the survival of the Baghdad government. "We do not like it, in fact we think it is very dangerous for us," he said. "There are some proposals in it which mean American is giving up."
But Mr Hamilton said yesterday that changing the primary US military mission in Iraq from combat to training Iraqi forces was the best option for stabilising the country. "If you put Americans in with Iraqi forces, one thing that is sure is you improve the quality of the Iraqi forces," he said on NBC's Meet the Press.
Mr Baker's 79 recommendations amount to a demand that American forsake the fight against insurgent terrorism in Iraq. It also proposes inviting Syrian and Iranian mediation with insurgent groups and militias.
Mr Zebari, like Mr Talabani, a Kurd and a US ally for a decade, said the report would result in Washington working against Shia Muslims and Kurds for the benefits of the Sunni community. "It's a very bad thing that they start picking up one community and trying to weaken the other two. It's very dangerous."
Mr Zebari, the only foreign minister of Iraq since the overthrow of Saddam Hussein, disclosed that the governing coalition is close to announcing a reshuffle of key ministers.
Mr Rumsfeld, who arrived in Iraq at the weekend for a farewell visit, spoke to Marines at an air base in the western province of Anbar at the weekend. He said: "The enemy must be defeated. We can certainly walk away from this enemy, but they will not walk away from us. This conflict is new and unfamiliar and complex, it is understandable that there will be differences about the direction our country should take."
A Newsweek poll shows that 65 per cent of Americans believe that the US should threaten to withdraw economic and military aide to Iraq unless the Iraqi government meets "benchmarks" for improving security in Iraq.
A majority of Americans want the US to set a firm date for withdrawing troops from Iraq and 48 per cent want US troops home within the next 12 months.
Just 21 per cent of respondents said they believe the US is making progress in Iraq.
Iraqi president calls U.S. bipartisan report dangerous and 'an insult to the people of Iraq'
by Kim Gamel - Associated Press Writer
Last modified Sunday, December 10, 2006 8:34 PM PST
http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2006/12/11/news/nation/121006183709.txt
Well here's an eye opener mahmoud- we concider you an insult to all humanity- so I guess that makes us even. http://sacredscoop.com
Ivan
no I stand by my assessment of mahmoud- thanks anyways
It does help to read it, you know.
Ivan
lol i am so messed up- Iraq- ah- Well, I guess though I can still stand by my sentiment of mahmoud
I like how people are taking on the Bush bashers here at Free Republic.
It is a pleasant change.
I see no sign that Bush is pulling out of Iraq in the manner these pollsters and dems are trying to arrange.
Baker is more of old school failures that lead to things like 911.
I think this is playing out pretty well.
Bush has shown good leadership on Iraq by maintaining our defense of democracy in Iraq despite its fragility.
The Iraqi public is coming to the same realization they made about Al Qaeda in regard to Shia militias. They are violent SOBs that need to be divorced from political power. Bloodshed is part of that cruel learning process.
The Sadrist and other radicals do not have the numbers to retake Iraq.
Bush's policies in Afghanistan and Iraq have been incredibly successful. The media propaganda war combined with dem backstabbing is only further evidence of its success. No good deed goes unpunished. These have been very good deeds.
This group of "wise men" fit into that mould. So what if Baker served the Bush (41) Administration - that doesn't mean he isn't an idiot. Considering how that Presidency collapsed from bad advice as well as fatigue, it's even more likely he's a fool.
It's at times like this that we need to hold to fundamental truths, which are generally simple: if someone is all talk and no action, are you inclined to respect him / her? What does the bully understand, dialogue or being punched in the face? What is more likely to be effective - putting the enemy in the ground or giving him a bribe? Common sense, as well as history indicates that talking and bribery never work - yet here we have these fools proposing it yet again because they'd rather ignore the brutal realities of life and diplomacy rather than deal with them head on.
My father was right - there is a cabal of fools in government. In this case it's this damn fool study group.
Regards, Ivan
Well, that lets number 2 out.
We go in with overwhelming force, retaliate with devastating effect after every "insurgent" operation and tell the civilians to either get the hell out of the way or live with the consequences.
Break their will and their minds will follow.
But we will piddlefoot around and 2 years from now we will still be in the same situation we're in today. The Iraqi government will still be looking to us to prop them up and protect them from the other countries just waiting to take them over, either covertly or overtly.
When it is not working, then it is no longer in our interest.
Well said. Iraqis, Pull up your socks!
Out of curiousity, what does everyone think we should do in Iraq?
As for the rest, a federal, cantonal system should be considered.
The rules of engagement need to be altered in order to smash the hell out of the insurgents, regardless of niceties.
Regards, Ivan
We need a dozen like DeLay.
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