Thread: Iraq/Dinar News. 09/05 to 01/14/07

Agreed Adster - think Maliki is or soon will be toast - he is unwilling to take on al-Sadr.

Khalil Al-Maliki is the increased : No one has the right to impose on us schedules

Baghdad-East : Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki today, Wednesday, that the Iraqi people is the only one who has the right to determine the timetable for political reform and disarmament of the militias, He refused to impose any schedule for the Iraqis.
The statements came in response to Maliki Declaration American Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad had yesterday, Tuesday, that al-Maliki agreed on a timetable for political reform and disarmament of the militias

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Translated version of http://www.alsharqiya.com/display.asp?fname=aboutus%5C2006%5C008.txt&storyti tle=

Originally Posted by pipshurricane

London, 25 October 2006 (Financial Times)

The top US officials in Baghdad yesterday said Iraqi forces should be "completely capable" of taking responsibility for securitywithin about 18 months. The assertion came as Republican support for the war continued to erode just two weeks ahead of November's congressional elections.

In a rare joint press conference, Zalmay Khalilzad, the US ambassador, and General George Casey, the top US commander in Iraq, delivered a unified message: that, despite the images of daily carnage in Baghdad, success was still possible.

Gen Casey, who originally hoped to reduce US forces to about 100,000 from 140,000 by the end of this year, said Iraqi forces should be ableto take full control ofsecurity in the country within the next 12 to 18 months with minimal American support.

Reflecting increased pessimism among Republicans that the Iraq war would cost them control of one or both houses of Congress, the White House on Monday said President George W. Bush would no longer use the phrase "stay the course".

In an attempt to bolster moribund support among the American public - as October shapes up to be one of the worst months in Iraq for US military deaths - Mr Khalilzad said the Iraqi leaders had agreed to develop a timeline of progress on both security and economic issues, including changes to the constitution, disbanding militias and agreeing a new hydrocarbons law.

"They have committed themselves to a timetable for making some of those decisions," said Mr Khalilzad, adding that he expected significant progress in the coming 12 months.

Gen Casey dismissed suggestions that Iraq had descended into civil war, insisting that 80 to 90 per cent of the sectarian violence happened in a 30-mile radius of the centre of Baghdad. But reflecting the escalating chaos in the capital, he acknowledged that he may need to ask formore troops to control the city.

The attempt to win back the debate over Iraq comes as the loss of faith in the war reached new highs among the American and British public. A recent CNN poll found that a record64 per cent of Americans now oppose the conflict.

Officials and analysts in the Middle East have been warning for months that Iraq has been gradually sliding into an uncontrollable civil war, as killings by Shia militias escalate at a faster pace than attacks by Sunni insurgents. Last week, Iraqi Shia and Sunni clerics were invited to the holy city of Mecca in Saudi Arabia to sign a declaration forbidding the shedding of Muslim blood.

The White House has been increasingly forced on to the back foot over Iraq since John Warner, the Republican chairman of the Senate armed services committee, who has been a strong backer of the administration, recently said the situation in Iraq was going "sideways", before warning last weekend that the violence was getting worse.

Lindsey Graham, a South Carolina Republican senator and strong supporter of the war, yesterday added to the White House woes, saying: "We're on the verge of chaos, and the current plan is not working."

Mr Graham said Donald Rumsfeld, the US defence secretary, and the US generals needed to come up with a new plan.

James Baker, the former secretary of state and Bush family confidante who is leading a bipartisan commission on US policy in Iraq, recently prompted speculation that the White House would gradually move towards a new policy by suggesting that "stay the course" and "cut and run" were not the only two options for Iraq.

The growing doubts about Iraq policy were also aggravated by revelations that the US was increasingly frustrated by the performance of the Iraqi government of Nouri al-Maliki, which had failed to follow through on moves towards national reconciliation with the Sunni minority and was resisting tough action against the Shia militias.


Success in Iraq still possible, say top US officials | Iraq Updates

[from an earlier post extracted from Financial Times (London October 25, 2006)] The attempt to win back the debate over Iraq comes as the loss of faith in the war reached new highs among the American and British public. A recent CNN poll found that a record64 per cent of Americans now oppose the conflict.

No one that I know likes war, but this is an example of "business math" used in an attempt to persuade people to think differently...64% of who. Depending on what kind of an outcome I want, I can go to a selected "coffee shop" and ask a leading question, like..."have you stopped beating your dog yet", and get the results I want. I can then turn around and say, "9 our of 10 people in (whatever area I took the poll) beat their dogs". It's this kind of stuff that turns people off to the [B]C[B]onstently [B]N[B]egative [B]N[B]ews[B]Network. This situation in IRAQ isn't a hobby for anyone in politics...I don't care how far out in left field they might be of a politician. They may practice their politics as a hobby, and be in politics for the wrong reason, but the stakes are too big for this to be viewed in any way other than as an effort to bring about stability in a country that has long gone without anything of the sort. They may have their own way of doing things, but "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness" is an universal concept that we in the United States may have taken for granted. Just my thoughts

Originally Posted by $onedaysoon$

Khalil Al-Maliki is the increased : No one has the right to impose on us schedules

Baghdad-East : Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki today, Wednesday, that the Iraqi people is the only one who has the right to determine the timetable for political reform and disarmament of the militias, He refused to impose any schedule for the Iraqis.
The statements came in response to Maliki Declaration American Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad had yesterday, Tuesday, that al-Maliki agreed on a timetable for political reform and disarmament of the militias

MORE FOLLOW LINK
Translated version of http://www.alsharqiya.com/display.asp?fname=aboutus%5C2006%5C008.txt&storyti tle=

This is NOT what Bush wants to hear so close to the elections..........Bet the Dems are loving this, as well as getting certain western medias to 'gee up' the militia bombings etc. I don't believe there any worse in Baghdad than before but the Dems are using the coverage to their advantage.....

Increased access Talabani on the orientation of Bush

Baghdad-East : Yesterday Iraqi President Jalal Talabani today at the resort of Dokan, the American ambassador in Baghdad Zalmay Khalilzad Sitdaolon aspects of the developments and the deteriorating situation on the Iraqi arena.

The Khalilzad Barzani and Talabani will inform the content of the topics discussed with President George Bush during his visit to Washington, which returned to Baghdad recently

Translated version of http://www.alsharqiya.com/display.asp?fname=aboutus%5C2006%5C008.txt&storyti tle=

Maliki started of ok then seems to have gone a bit soft, agreed. But definatley not good for us if he replaced now, it will add to even more delays that Iraq simply cannot afford. Get the country rolling in the right direction with the relevant laws and RV in place and then get rid. JMO

Originally Posted by Adster

This is NOT what Bush wants to hear so close to the elections..........Bet the Dems are loving this, as well as getting certain western medias to 'gee up' the militia bombings etc. I don't believe there any worse than they are out there just that the Dems are using the coverage to their advantage.....

so what happens if Maliki gets the boot? Do we have to go through all of the approving of laws again, or do they need to be redone, or is the rv still on the table just pushed way back? No rosie answers, please be frank

John

They will just have to piss around aguing who is going to replace him, remember the performances back at the beginning of the year???

Here's a thought... Didn't the Kurdish president (or PM. Not sure his title) just make a visit to Baghdad a couple of days ago? What if the visit was actually a "data dump" type of visit due to the Kurdish president transitioning into that post? If that were the case, things would just continue to flow smoothly since he is well aware of the job duties and well aware of the situations in Iraq. Plus, we all KNOW he can do the job.

Of course, this is all a "What If".

A tripartite meeting between Talabani and Barzani and Khalilzad Balslimaneh Jayman favor of Arbil - (Voices of Iraq)
The tripartite meeting this afternoon Wednesday between Iraqi President Jalal Talabani and Kurdistan President Masoud Barzani, the American ambassador to Iraq Zalmay Khalilzad, at the resort of Dukan in Sulaymaniyah.
The meeting of the American ambassador with Talabani and Barzani is the first of Khalilzad with Iraqi officials after his return from the United States and his meeting with President George Bush.
The space of the Kurdistan Democratic Party of Kurdistan "that Khalilzad, the American ambassador in Iraq began this morning meeting with the President of the Republic of Iraq, Mr. Jalal Talabani and Mr. Massoud Barzani's Kurdistan region in the head of Dukan."
It added that the meeting would discuss the space of the deteriorating situation in Iraq. although Khalilzad will Talabani and Barzani on the content of the topics discussed with the American President George W. Bush
Translated version of http://www.aswataliraq.com/