3 Marines Killed
Iraqis Resist Pressure for Benchmarks
Sunni Arab guerrillas killed 3 US Marines in al-Anbar.
Veteran foreign affairs correspondent Trudy Rubin argues that the upcoming Sharm El Sheikh conference of Iraq's neighbors is an opportunity for the Bush administration to enlist the aid of Iraq's neighbors in resolving the crisis. If you don't see the Bushies heavily involved or don't see practical follow-through from Washington, she suggests, then you will know that Bush isn't serious about peace making.
Reuters looks at the evidence that the Iraqi parliament is not going to pass the 4 Bush "benchmarks" by June and explains that this is because the Iraqi MPs have constituents who don't want things like reinstatement of Baathists in government jobs. Reuters further warns that too much US pressure could backfire because Iraqi politicians will reject it.
BBC World Monitoring paraphrases the following from al-Sharqiya Television:
' BBC Monitoring International Reports
April 26, 2007 Thursday
SAUDI SAID TO REJECT IRAQI PM VISIT OVER "BIAS TOWARDS A CERTAIN SECT"
Text of report by Dubai-based Iraqi private Al-Sharqiyah TV on 25 April
[Announcer-read report]
A high-level Saudi diplomatic source has announced that Riyadh did not receive Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, currently on a Gulf tour, because of his negative stands towards some sects in Iraq. The source, who asked to remain anonymous, added that Al-Maliki's bias towards a certain sect in Iraq as well as his negative stands towards other sects were among the reasons that prompted the Saudi leadership not to receive him.
Source: Al-Sharqiyah TV, Dubai, in Arabic 1836 gmt 25 Apr 07
posted by Juan Cole @ 4/28/2007 12:30:00 AM
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And the developments over the next several months will be critical – as General Casey and General Abizaid and the secretary made very clear over the course of last week – as the constitutional referendum in the mid part of this month, the general elections in mid-December and then the subsequent formation of a new government all take place.”
October 5, 2005
Lt. Gen. David Petraeus, Former Commander, Multi-National Transition Command Iraq and NATO Training Mission Iraq
News Briefing
And the developments over the next several months will be critical – as General Casey and General Abizaid and the secretary made very clear over the course of last week – as the constitutional referendum in the mid part of this month, the general elections in mid-December and then the subsequent formation of a new government all take place.”
October 5, 2005
Lt. Gen. David Petraeus, Former Commander, Multi-National Transition Command Iraq and NATO Training Mission Iraq
News Briefing
But it was necessary for the president to go out and reinforce to our troops and the other coalition forces and to the world that we have a resolve in these next four to six months in Iraq which are critical to bring about achievement of our goals. … We should not at this time in these critical four to six months be worrying about a timetable to withdraw or even talking about it.”
November 30, 2005
Senator John W. Warner (Republican -Virginia)
PBS “Online Newhour”
(via "Fabius Maximus")
Why should the Iraqis achieve benchmarks when Bush doesn't?
Nice touch Madame Speaker
My idol..one of many Juan!
Gen William Odom,
Democratic Party Weekly Radio Address
Transcript and stream mp3
Good morning, this is Lieutenant General William E. Odom, U.S. Army, retired.
"I am not now nor have I ever been a Democrat or a Republican. Thus, I do not speak for the Democratic Party. I speak for myself, as a non-partisan retired military officer who is a former Director of the National Security Agency. I do so because Nancy Pelosi, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, asked me.
"In principle, I do not favor Congressional involvement in the execution of U.S. foreign and military policy. I have seen its perverse effects in many cases. The conflict in Iraq is different. Over the past couple of years, the President has let it proceed on automatic pilot, making no corrections in the face of accumulating evidence that his strategy is failing and cannot be rescued.
"Thus, he lets the United States fly further and further into trouble, squandering its influence, money, and blood, facilitating the gains of our enemies. The Congress is the only mechanism we have to fill this vacuum in command judgment....
Some in Congress on both sides of the aisle have responded with their own tits-for-tats. These kinds of games, however, are no longer helpful, much less amusing. They merely reflect the absence of effective leadership in a crisis. And we are in a crisis.
"Most Americans suspect that something is fundamentally wrong with the President's management of the conflict in Iraq. And they are right.
"The challenge we face today is not how to win in Iraq; it is how to recover from a strategic mistake: invading Iraq in the first place. The war could never have served American interests.
"But it has served Iran's interest by revenging Saddam Hussein's invasion of Iran in the 1980s and enhancing Iran's influence within Iraq. It has also served al Qaeda's interests, providing a much better training ground than did Afghanistan, allowing it to build its ranks far above the levels and competence that otherwise would have been possible.
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