In the midst of this weeks latest edition of the Dave and Ryan Magic Show on capital hill, where it appears that if things get worse in Iraq, we have to stay and if things get better in Iraq, we have to stay - no matter what we have to again wait until September comes again - everyone seems to have completely forgotten to bother asking what the Iraqis want the U.S. do?
Well, here's what Iraqi PM Maliki says:
The prime minister told Bush during a 20-minute telephone conversation on Wednesday that Iraqi security forces are capable of carrying out their duties and U.S. troops should be pulled out as the situation permits, according to a senior government adviser who sat in on the phone conversation. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to disclose the confidential details.
Oops. Does this mean that Maliki wants us to Cut and Run?
Not only has the Bush Administration been completely oblivious to the desires of the American People...
CHENEY: On the security front, I think there’s a general consensus that we’ve made major progress, that the surge has worked. That’s been a major success.
RADDATZ: Two-third of Americans say it’s not worth fighting.
CHENEY: So?
RADDATZ So? You don’t care what the American people think?
CHENEY: No. I think you cannot be blown off course by the fluctuations in the public opinion polls.
Fluctuations? Do these look like "fluctuations" to you?
They also don't care what the Iraqi people seem to think. (via The Wapo)
...61 percent said the presence of U.S. forces in Iraq is making the security situation there worse.
No matter what the sitaution is on the ground, Patreaus and Crocker have made it clear that they remain hell bent for steel, and will pause the troop draw down, keeping our troops levels in Iraq at or even beyond the breaking point until at least 45 days past July, ensuring that there wil be at least 140,000 troops in the War Zone when the next President takes office.
In a speech at the White House, Bush hailed what he described as Iraqi progress in the political, economic and security realms. However, he said, Iraq remains "the convergence point" for two of the greatest current threats to the United States: al-Qaeda and Iran. He said that despite the reduction of a quarter of U.S. combat power in Iraq by the end of July, U.S. troops would continue hunting down members of the group known as al-Qaeda in Iraq. And he warned Iran to stop funding, arming and training extremist groups battling U.S. forces and the Iraqi government.
"If Iran makes the wrong choice, America will act to protect our interests, our troops and our Iraqi partners," Bush said.
He spoke after two days of congressional testimony in which Army Gen. David H. Petraeus and Ambassador Ryan C. Crocker described significant, but "fragile and reversible," progress in Iraq. Petraeus, the commander of U.S. forces in Iraq, laid out a plan to reduce his troop strength to about 140,000 -- down from about 170,000 at the height of a "surge" last year -- and to suspend further reductions while commanders take stock of the situation.
This of course flies directly in the face of Bush previous promise that if the Iraqis asked us to leave - we would go.
BUSH: We are there at the invitation of the Iraqi government. This is a sovereign nation. Twelve million people went to the polls to approve a constitution. It’s their government’s choice. If they were to say, leave, we would leave. [...] We are there at their request. [...] but if they were to make the request, we wouldn’t be there.
Yeah, sure we would.
Vyan
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