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Shifting Sands: Iraq PM Bashes Bush
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by phrolen | August 22, 2007 at 07:59 am
1183 views | 14 Recommendations | 23 comments
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NowPublic contributor phrolen is a veteran of Operation Iraqi
Freedom and Joint Taskforce Katrina. His commentary is based on actual
experience.
Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Al Maliki seemingly turned his angst against President Bush Wednesday, one day after President Bush publicly criticized the Iraqi government for failing at achieving political unity. "No one has the right to place time tables on the Iraqi government" Maliki stated "Those who make such statements are bothered by our visit to Syria. We will pay no attention. We care for our people and our constitution and can find friends elsewhere." Though it is, in fact, unclear where Maliki would find friends willing to deploy 135,000 troops to Iraq to help stand up his fledgling administration if President Bush were to call for a withdraw of U.S. forces. Thus far, most other nations, including U.N., NATO, and Arab League nations have been unwilling to commit troops to combat in the Iraq Conflict. Smelling a potential political opportunity, harsh Bush critic, and leading anti war activist Senator Carl Levin (D) Michigan, seemed to call for a new regime change in Iraq, going on the record Monday stating that the democratically elected Maliki government should be ousted and replaced with a less sectarian one. No proposal had come from Levin's Washington office, as of Wednesday morning, outlining exactly how the Senator plans to accomplish this regime change while sticking to his recently proposed, 6 month plan for troop withdraw.
The current political turmoil highlights exactly how contentious of an environment U.S. Ambassador to Iraq, Ryan Crocker, and U.S. Iraq Commander General David Petraeus will be facing when they climb Capital Hill September 15, for their much anticipated progress report on Iraqi operations. The report is expected to show good progress on the military front as a result of the years "Surge" operations that injected over 25,000 more American troops into the Iraq theatre of operations. However, Crocker is likely to report that there has been little progress on the Iraqi political front due to the ongoing sectarian strife, criticized by President Bush Tuesday. All hands are bracing for a political battle that is expected to follow the September 15th report. Democrats in both the House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate have vowed to launch renewed efforts to force a U.S. retreat from Iraq; such measures were passed in earl summer but failed to muster the votes to over-ride a President Bush veto
UPDATE: In statement made today President Bush offers full support to Maliki government. Administration officials reframe earlier Bush comments on Maliki to ease tensions.
DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) - Iraq's prime minister lashed out at American criticism, saying Wednesday that no one has a right to put timetables on his elected government.Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki blamed the U.S. presidential campaign for the recent tough words from the Bush administration and from other American politicians.
"No one has the right to place timetables on the Iraq government. It was elected by its people," he said at a news conference in Damascus at the end of a three-day visit to Syria.
"Those who make such statements are bothered by our visit to Syria. We will pay no attention. We care for our people and our constitution and can find friends elsewhere," al-Maliki said
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Most RecentMost Recommended Comments (23)
at 08:13 on August 22nd, 2007
phrolen, you've done some great work here, once again. Thank you for continuing to give an interesting context to the news coming out of Iraq. Awesome stuff.
at 18:26 on August 22nd, 2007
The theatrics surrounding this event should earn somebody a Tony.
It is widely acknowledged that the true author of this report is the Bush administration and yet this document is being treated as some kind of objective 3rd party analysis.
How does such an obvious slight of hand get past a supposedly shrewd press corps? And more importantly, what's at stake as a result of this media misconstrual? A lot.
at 08:29 on August 22nd, 2007
Thanks for your comment Kaitlin. I will continue to stay on top of Iraq, and alert you all to changes when they occur.
at 08:33 on August 22nd, 2007
Hi phrolen. This report is rather wishy washy. I am not surprised though as there is a media black out in the USA concerning Iraq. I am really not sure what you are trying to say here. We just had a reporter return from Iraq and another who was imbebed with Apache 2 co. The video I am editing at the Moment is from as you would call it "Death Vally" Dyala. If you are supporting the president here which I am unsure of, the rest of your commrades certainly do not. The so called "Surge" has failed because it is not a surge but a drible. Maybe we should team up here and try to get some better stories out on this,
SP
at 09:05 on August 22nd, 2007
I am glad to hear you say that you feel the report is wish-washy. That means that I am not being biased either way in my reporting. It is not my job to project biased. I support the mission in Iraq and would like to see it succeed, what kind of team player leaves the field and then says he wants to see his team lose. As for the politics, I think everyone, across the board, Dempcrats, and Republicans, have really taken a nosedive on this one. Republicans were too worried about Ideology, and Democrats with their finger in the political wind were too worried about ... well Ideology. I am sincerely trying to be apolitical about my reporting. If you have footage and reports of Apache 2 guys not supporting the war. Thats just what you have, footage and reports. I have an army of guys in the field who would say just the opposite. The Iraq War is a contentious issue across the board, and that contentious nature is news its self and I try and highlight that. The underlying sardonic tone in a couple of sentences in the report was to highlight, the sardonic nature of what is going on; the nuance and duplicity...if you will. It is not to call attention to one side of the political spectrum or the other. From my experience in Balad "Mortaritaville" as they called it, biased and skewed reporting was the number one thing that was wrong with the scenario, aside from Vbeds, IED's and Mortar fire. I am trying my best to steer clear from it(politicized reporting). We actually have a column for that kind of reporting, the opinion section.
at 10:37 on August 22nd, 2007
Well then I shall post the latest report from 82nd Airborne in Diyala. I think you should support your fellow troops in Iraq. I hope you like the report. Our Journo risked life and limb to get it. He, as are you, is also unbais.
As for your Army of guys in the feild. I doubt it. You need to go a long way up the chain of CMD before you hear anything positive these days.
I am glad you want to remain unbais but you will need to actually report stuff regardless about how you feel personally. This is what I meant by wishy washy, If your report was bias I would have said so. If you dont like feed back say so now and I wont give it. Personally I hate it when I dont get feed back, it just makes it harder to know what to report and what people want to know. This is not a competition, we need to cooperate to make this into a legitimate news site.
at 07:17 on August 23rd, 2007
Hi SthPacific--you said "Our Journo risked life and limb to get it. He, as are you, is also unbais. " and before you've said "we" about news coverage. What news organization are you affiliated with? Who is this journalist? If we're discussing our perceptions about creditability of news media, let's point out that AP/Reuters/BBC/CNN/etc. etc. etc. (reel off a long list) clearly identify themselves and their work. Al-Jazeera makes it clear what is their work.
Could you do the same? And where are you based? Are you actually in the field in a combat zone? It would help to understand your views to know these things.
at 09:12 on August 22nd, 2007
http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D8R65V9O0&show_article=1&catnum=0
sthpacific please reference this story for more info on the ongoing political situation. Thanks for your post
at 10:40 on August 22nd, 2007
No offense but AP is not regarded as a reliable source for American news. Do you have any indipendant sources that can back this up ?
at 11:29 on August 22nd, 2007
Sth Pac, I look forward to reading your report, I am glad you have material that suppots your point of view. Good Stuff, original is what NP is all about and I applaud your efforts. I am in daily contact with my folks in Iraq and from time to time i'll place a little pulse checker in my work, which I see will often offset some of the reporting that you do. So it looks like to me, from an administrative point of view, that NowPublic is covering all bases. Therefore we are working as a team covering many fascets of the perspective spectrum. We are just approaching it from entirely different perspectives. I take my real life experiences and channel daily news through that to add a bit of wisdom (which you gain from experience) to the daily rhetoric coming out of the news world. AP, Reuters, and FT were all reporting supporting substance for my article, and what little I added in was entirely factual and added good perspective to the report. As to independent verification, many of your own reports contain absolutely none, therefore, it begs the question does your critique of my article which was highlighted from the Internationally Acclaimed Associated Press and verified by virtually every other news agency out there actually hold any weight whatsoever. This is what makes NP so great, it is not about the political rhetoric from either side. Its about a little personal perspective, crowd powered journalism. As for my perspective, well I actually fought in the war Pacific, surely that counts for something. Cheerio. Please feel free to continue the feedback, I have absolutely nothing against it. Take care
at 11:38 on August 22nd, 2007
phrolen, your perspective adds value context to this multifaceted debate. It will be very interesting to watch how the relationship between the US Admin and the Iraqi Admin develops as the Iraqi government becomes more independent. The irony seems to be that the stated goal of the US to create an independent Iraqi government could result in an Iraqi administration that distances itself from the US.
at 11:42 on August 22nd, 2007
http://www.reuters.com/article/topNews/idUSYAT71336220070822?src=082207_1417_TOPSTORY_lessons_of_war
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/812c9612-50ad-11dc-86e2-0000779fd2ac.html
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,294068,00.html
http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/08/21/bush.iraq/index.html
http://www.guardian.co.uk/Iraq/Story/0,,2154142,00.html
http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/08/22/news/prexy.php
Just a few of the sites that carried related stories
at 20:04 on August 22nd, 2007
Thanks phrolen, in this case when refering to Iraq reports cnn, and the Guardian would be considered independant. The others are stringers. For example. If you want to report from an AP story, it would also need to be reported in a similar fashion in the Guardian.
AP and reuters have been caught to many times telling fibs about events in Iraq. I think though you are missing the point here I am no0t attacking the Story, I am questioning the Validity of your reporting, that being "Because you were in Iraq means you are a good source", This is drawing a rather Long Bow and I think you need to back your stories just as anyone else does. So we are clear on this I hope, I am critising you not the Story.
at 11:47 on August 22nd, 2007
Ryan.... exactly, that is one of the most interesting elements to watch, will the U.S. allow an administration in Iraq to rise that is not a friend of the U.S. Ironically, the Democratic lawmakers appear to be the first ones rushing to flush the Maliki govt. Any side of the spectrum you look there simply seems to be no coherency in day to day statements. I think it is our job to extract that coherency from the ongoing struggle. Thanks for the comment
at 14:26 on August 22nd, 2007
phrolen, Good stuff.
at 15:49 on August 22nd, 2007
Moonwolf, I find the vitriol in your comments rather disturbing but not surprising. I feel like they arent representative of a Wrangler and do little more that inflame emotions rather than add to decent debate. George W Bush will be gone in time, but Islamic Fascism will be there when he is gone. Really, quite flatly regardless of how many have died, even one is too many but war sucks. I rest easy at night knowing that in those hordes killed by guys like me over there doing (by your words) Satans bidding, at least a good oh... Id say half are dead Fascists who have went the way of Goebbels and Himmler. Different creed same code my friend. So you can type from your Ivory tower with your head in the proverbial pacifism sand, all the while I will have nightmares about your "Freedom Fighters" blowing up cars filled with candy collecting babies. I know this is hard language, however your inflamatory rhetoric is way over the line without respect or regard for anyone else.
at 16:48 on August 22nd, 2007
Look MW, one thing is for sure here man, In the end I am going to win this arguement. Guys like me, generally speaking, that come from my general background, we are reproducing at about 3.5 kids for every fertile female. On the otherside, not targeting you in general, but guys like you, generally speaking, reproduce at about 1.7 to 1.9 kids per fertile female. Now the going rate on population stability, is about 2.1 kids per fertile, willing and able girlie. You see the void my friend, to add a bit of icing on the cake, In the UK France , oh and yes Canada, who is picking up the slack, Islamists and since the most reproductive islamists are usually the radical kind, that kinda spells trouble for yous guys now does it not. You night not feel like this has anything to do with what we are talking about, but overarchingly it very much does. There is a serious, deadly, radicalized, and growing Islamist culture spreading from a world away to right in your back yard. Dont belive me, travel to France go to the Clichy Du Bois, meet the "Youths." This will probably be my last reply to you because you refuse rationality and sensibility aw well as respect and common courtesty. All I can say is Neville Chamberlain may have been a great man but is that the way he is remembered. I respect your wishes for peace and infact share them. But, there is a forest amongst the trees
at 15:58 on August 22nd, 2007
I realize that there are strong passions associated with any war, and with any leader. Despite my own aversion to the current president, I do not, and will not, disrespect the office, the American people, or our service people. Politicians come, they go. Taking the long view historically shows turmoil is part of every era. Healthy exchanges of differences of opinion are a good thing.
However, on a news site like NowPublic, the discussions, I think, need to be different from those of say, topic groups, etc. In presenting ourselves as journalists, citizen journalists, and commentators on the news, I hope that we can each keep in mind that part of our job is to elevate the dialogue.
at 16:16 on August 22nd, 2007
No one is asking for you to agree with a point of view only TONE IT DOWN, and please do keep the admonishment in mind, A bit of professionalism is in order. We are working for constructive conversation, not beligerence, or ranting rhetoric. There are a million arguements to be made either way, in a civilized manner without the Holy Quest to Stick it the Evil American.
at 16:22 on August 22nd, 2007
phrolen, great work once again. Thanks.
at 16:23 on August 22nd, 2007
Thank you Victoria, how refreshing your compliment is to me at this moment :)
at 10:05 on August 23rd, 2007
Moonwolf and sthpacific, your comments on this article have diluted the debate far beyond the realm of sensible discussion and rationale. Comments such as yours filled with blind ideology are the reason that many sites on the internet do not offer forums as a median for the exchange of ideas. I am ashamed that the readers of my column have had to endure such childish behavior and appoligize to those who had their comments absorbed by such ostensibly meritless rhetoric. I would greatly appreciate it if the two of you refrained from posting on any of my future strings. Such personal attacks are intolerable and wisdom dictates that I ignore all such belligerence in the future. I would appreciate you respecting my wishes.
at 13:05 on August 23rd, 2007
We must celebrate the good things a county has done or achieved (the USA has produced music and poetry - just to mention two - of outstanding proportions). We must not however be offended by criticism of atrocities committed. No country is clean of unspeakable atrocities against others. I have lived in four countries Holland, Germany, Australia and now New Zealand. All four are guilty of committing genocide on a grand scale. We all have dirty washing. The big difference is that the USA is continuing to dominate and bully (by using extreme violence as outlined so well by moonwoolf) large parts of our planet. Iraq was invaded on falsely created pretext of "weapons of mass destruction" (remember, they were never found). In my view, Iraq is nothing more than a carefully created springboard to other places within the region. If anyone is offended by what moonwoolf has to say, have a look what John Pilger is saying about the USA in his many documentaries. I have recently posted "The War on Democracy". All I can say is thanks to people like John Pilger, one of the greatest commentators of our time. He has and will continue to offend many Americans well beyond what moonfoolf will ever be capable of doing here on NP.