Iraqi official: Lawmakers cutting short summer recess (Iraq is on target to meet benchmarks)

BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- Iraq is on target to meet by September key political benchmarks set by the U.S. Congress, Iraqi National Security Adviser Mowaffak al-Rubaie said Sunday.

Iraqi lawmakers have cut their planned two-month recess in half and will be working six-day weeks for the rest of this month to try to pass the provisions by September, he said.

Al-Rubaie disputed a report in Sunday's Washington Post that cited senior U.S. officials as saying the Iraqi government "is unlikely to meet any of the political and security goals or timelines President Bush set for it in January when he announced a major shift in U.S. policy."

"I totally disagree with this, and this is totally untrue," al-Rubaie said. "I think we have already seen a visible progress in the economy and security and information as well as political."

"I believe by September, we will be able to report very good progress," al-Rubaie said on CNN's

Good to see good news on CNN too. I can't believe I just said that.

We need to get rid of the RINOs who are talking about pulling Troops out.

I want politicians standing behind our Generals plans. I don't want Generals standing behind our politicians plans.

Lugar and Domenici need to understand that we must show resolve to our enemy. Terrorist are telling people in Iraq not to work with the Americans or they will kill their family. They are telling the Iraqi people that we won't be there forever. We must show resolve so the people can begin to trust their new government and the US over the terrorist. If you do not show resolve you are part of the problem and you are a National Security risk.

We need to put this situation into perspective:

We have been in Iraq for four years and we lost 3,500 Troops. In four years of WWII, we almost lost 500,000 Troops. During the first twenty one days on Iwo, we averaged a thousand losses a day. We have been in Iraq for four years and lost 3,500 Troops, right? Well, that is the middle of the fourth day on Iwo Jima. 52,000 fell in two years of Korea. Our bloodiest day took place in 4 hours not four years. We saw 22,000 casualties in fours hours at Antietam.

What happened to the words, 'we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe to assure the survival of liberty"?

I'll tell you what happened, the Demorats silenced those words and now a mess of RINOs like Lugar and Domenici are silencing those words. Along with our media, the leaders of the Demoratic Party, and the RINOs need to grow a back bone, pickup a weapon, and stand a post. We need to show our Troops and our enemy resolve.

We will leave Iraq when the Iraqi people can protect themselves from an outside threat and maintain some peace from within. Until then, we must help them fix the problems they face.

Lugar needs to watch this video of Ronald Wilson Reagan:

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-7568233662206815073&q=Ronald+Reagan+-+A+Rendezvous+With+Destiny+%2B+video&total=1&start=0&num=10&so=0&type=search&plindex=0

IMHGBCO, the most important least appreciated and analyzed post election milestone in Iraq was the execution of Saddam. I think up until that point one of the Iraqi's greatest fears was that Saddam would somehow evade the hangman's noose and be returned to his position of power. It was not a misplaced fear, given both the US recent history of not finishing the job along with the immediate pronouncements of many Democrats that any war with Iraq was destined to fail. That fear kept people silent, passive. It is no accident that, after the execution, tips to US and Iraqi forces on the locations of insurgents picked up dramatically. Now when US politicians flap their gums about getting out of Iraq before the job is finished they not only embolden the enemy, but they also force those who would step forward to help back into the shadows.

I wonder if the Dems are capable of understanding the consequences of their actions. I am almost convinced they don't. The liberal wing of the Democrat Party is not blessed with what I would call dynamic thinkers. Sure people like Bill Clinton can memorize facts and spew them out (what he doesn't make up) at the drop of a hat. But he is incapable of doing anything meaningful with the data. And if he happens to get it right, when the facts change he can't adjust to the change. The Dems don't seem to get cause and effect relationships. That is apparent in their approach to taxes, welfare reform, social security private accounts. You name it. Face it. Liberals just aren't very smart.

To a lesser extent the belief in a Saddam return impacted the initial choices made by some Sunnis. I am sure many expected that they would be returned to power if they just held out long enough. Eventually they had to enter into a relationship with Al Qaeda to keep their hopes alive. That relationship has begun to go sour as recent news reports have revealed.

There are many things that bother me about the behaviors of Democrats and Republicans in the lead up the conflict as well as while the conflict has raged on. McDermott and Bonior visit Saddam. Rocky and Pelosi go to Syria. Intel leaks almost every day. Republicans do nothing. Amazing.

Placing the captured Iraqi documents on the internet was a great idea. Unleash the power of hundreds if not thousands of interpreters on these critical documents. Some interesting information was gleaned from these documents, until the Dems complained about a trumped up "intel leak" disclosed in the documents. Dems. Intel leaks. Does anyone in thier right mind think the Dems were concerned about intel leaks? Give me a break. IMO, what bothered the Dems was the fact that Saddam and Company were such meticulous record keepers. This should have sent off alarm bells from Conservative politicians and pundits alike. Nothing. The great Ann Coulter, Laura Ingraham, Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, etal all missed it.

I don't think the document shutdown is separate from the Dems trips, Oil for Food, other complicit individuals. There is something in those documents that scares the sh*t out of the Democrats. The Republicans should insist that those documents be returned to the internet. They should further insist that Nancy Pelosi release transcripts of her private conversation with Assad. They need to quit worrying about being liked and start doing what is right. Our future depends on it.

He pointed out that a draft oil law has been approved by the council of ministers and has gone to the full council of representatives. Al-Rubaie called it "a huge step."

Actually the proposed oil law hasn't yet been formally introduced to parliament due to lack of quorum, which has been a frequent problem in the Iraqi parliament for many weeks now. And today I heard that the Kurdish parties in parliament are already objecting due to some changes the government made on the draft law.

Also, two main blocs are still refusing to participate in parliament meetings: the Sadr block (33 members I think) and the main sunni bloc (44 members). The speaker (from the sunni bloc) is suspended due to a clash that happened few weeks ago and his replacement is still not resolved. The three main resolutions (oil, constitution reforms and new Baath law) are still not yet debated. Even the replacement of ministers, which requires parliament approval, hasn't taken place. Few months ago the Sadrists pulled out their six ministers from Maliki's government and they have not yet been replaced because the main political blocs walk out each time parliament debate the new names, thus causing a lack of quorum.

Having said that, I think the Iraqi polticians might make it in the end. Often they do get things done right at the eleventh hour.

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