The Prez. Despite the fact that I'd jump off a cliff if the guy ordered me to, I'm not in the business of heaping praise upon Bush. After all his administration did give us a skyrocketing deficit, an overused-understaffed military, and a distrust for conservative values that will take years to repair. But I did like what he had to say at today's White House press conference about the Senate bickering over Iraq (via Bloomberg):
“Congressional leaders are still sounding the same old call for withdrawal. I guess you could say that when it comes to pushing for withdrawal, their strategy is to stay the course.”
The situation in Iraq changes rapidly. Last week it was whether or not Sadr would unleash the wrath of the Mahdi Army (he didn't). Then it was whether or not Turkey was going to invade northern Iraq (they did). Who knows what'll happen next week. Maybe Ahmadinejad will start break dancing at President Talabani's residence when he visits Baghdad. The fact of the matter is that the US leadership needs to stop being so damn intellectually lazy and start figuring out what's going on over here. Only then will we be able to begin the process of getting out of this place leaving behind a stable country. The bipartisan schism on Iraq of we need to withdraw now or we need to have permanent bases doesn't provide a solution to the mission at hand.
A not-amused POTUS
See what the others have said:
4 comments:
holy crap, the man made a funny!
Bush's frathouse shenanigans are always a welcome jolt of hilarity compared to boring speeches about sub-prime mortgages.
LT,
Do you think it'll be possible to leave "behind a stable country"? I think as soon as the US forces leave the cobbled together nation is going to fragment.
While the Kurds may have a desire to keep the nation together, albeit a weak federal model with much autonomy centered on their historic capital of Kirkuk and its oil fields (until they are strong enough to push for Nationhood), but the Sunni Arabs aren't going to be happy owning only the Syria desert and Haditha Dam, while the Shite Arabs claim Baghdad and the southern oil fields...
Seems like we're stuck for the next 100 years ala the Philippines, Korea, Germany, Panama, etc...
Gene,
Well that's why the Hydrocarbon Law and Provincial Revenue distribution law are important...and the Baghdad government has got to figure it out. The Sahwa councils are starting to take up a more political role in Anbar and I'm certain it's because their province is so resource deprived compared to places like Basra. This could be beneficial in that it would ensure some kind of distribution of oil money. Article 140 (for Kirkuk) is a total fiasco and the thing was supposed to be past last year. I have no predictions on how that thing is going to turn out. I should also mention the Anbaris have the Al-Qaim port to Syria, which I guess is good for commerce or something.
I was speaking of a stable country in the sense that there wouldn't be widespread violence and terrorism. Even if all the violence ended today, you'd still be left with a crappy infrastructure left by Saddam's Follies, UN Sanctions, and 5 years of war. I think a long-term diplomatic presence is needed, but hopefully the military presence can start tapering down.
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