Posted on 11/02/2006 8:10:14 AM PST by SunkenCiv
In the last week, I talked to two senior people from the Gulf. And they thought it was unimaginable that the United States would withdraw quickly, especially in this abrupt manner. Of course, if we could -- if certain stabilizing events evolve inside Iraq and/or if we can create a grouping of Sunni countries around Iraq, then it might be possible to look at this question again. And then, one can think of negotiation with other -- with, say, Iran and Syria. But unless we have some real assets that are on our side of the equation, no negotiation can succeed... Maliki doesn't want to make them or that if he made them he couldn't enforce them. And I don't think either condition is exactly effectively accurate. For one thing, Maliki has been put in, in part, with the support of the Sadr militia. So before he can turn on the Sadr militia, if that were to be his inclination along the road, he would have to get some freedom of maneuver. And one would have to build up a national army that he controls, that he can then use against the militia. I have not heard any of our people claim that we now have a national army, that if Maliki gave the order, would be capable of doing this.
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
related:
Henry Kissinger on Europe's Falling out with Washington
(Der Spiegel's interview with Kissinger)
Der Spiegel | October 10, 2005 | Georg Mascolo and Gerhard Spörl
Posted on 10/12/2005 6:51:33 PM EDT by REactor
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1501417/posts
Premature extractulation is always bad.............
Hey, why postpone the inevitable? ;')
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