Posted on 08/22/2007 6:50:32 AM PDT by SE Mom
"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," Mr. al-Maliki said.
(Excerpt) Read more at nysun.com ...
His coalition government will be replaced by a new coalition and he knows it.
I think that’s called a “narrow view of the world” (tm).
Well, he’s not...”thinking”, that is.
He is so used to the dbm and dems trashing Dubya that he though he’d try it himself.
We need to take out Sadr!
You’re probably right- but these words seem a tad inflamatory- regardless.
Mr. Maliki is crackers. Great. Just great.
I actually agree with him. The whole notion of "timetables" is stupid and reeks of bureaucrat-think. The process of stabilizing and governing a violent country in the wake of a power vacuum is not something you can plot out in "timetables" or as some big Microsoft Project file. Every time I hear some manicured Washington DC politician or bureaucrat spout off about "timetables" or "benchmarks" I want to p*ke.
He is right. Not saying it’s good, but he is right.
The Democrat idiots Levin and Co. are calling for his ouster although they aren’t in a position to do so.
At the same time those very Democrats are calling for our withdrawal. What are the Iraqis supposed to do? Of course they will look for other patrons and partners. Maliki and the Shias naturally will look to Iran.
This is the reaction to Democrat bitching.
The problem in Iraq is that they do not have a leader. Until someone steps up, this will be a a problem.
This guy is clueless. He needs to understand that we can make any ‘threat’ we like because we are voluntarily their for their benefit.
Makes you appreciate how ‘lucky’ we were at the founding of our country. We had many great leaders and one especially great leader (George Washington).
When will we learn that the Middle East loves us for our money and our technology to pull black gold out of the sands. As they unite in the middle east, we divide here in the US.
Afghanistan, Iraq have relations with Iran, Syria, Lebannon. Hamas and the Fatah, after fighting and the US injecting more money to Abbas, they have decided to work together again.
Saudi Arabi is our friend as long as we are selling them military arms in the tune of 20 billion plus. Lets hope they don’t aim this at our soldiers.
Just my opinion.
I’d like to know if he said this in English or if this “quote” is translation. So much meaning can be lost or inferred by a poor choice of words. If it is meant exactly as it is said, no wonder they can’t get their act together. They’re children in an adult world.
My Fair Lady
“He is thinking that he can shore up his waning popularity by appealing to anti-US sentiment.”
You mean he’s joining Hillary & Reid and the DNC?
We never wanted a puppet government, just one that would operate by the rule of law. As long as he can back up words with action, it’s just a sign of growing independance and self reliance. (That said, we’re not going to allow it to become a puppet government of Iran or Syria either, that’s one of the reasons we’re still there.)
This is the natural consequence of the President's foolish belief that a consensual and pacific government could be established among the inhabitants of the former Ottoman vilayets of Mosul, Mesopotamia, and Basra, as a unitary state under the name "Iraq".
The Democrats are merely opportunistic scavengers.
Of course his premise is correct- it requires time to work through the enormous tasks of establishing a new government- that isn’t my problem with his statement.
I do, however take exception to:
..”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,” Mr. al-Maliki said.
-That strikes me as completely over the top. The implication is that the US does not care for Iraq or it’s constitution.
Which is not to say that you shouldn't plan, and that planning includes goals and objective criteria that you intend to meet. Just that no battle plan ever survived contact with the enemy. Stabilizing Iraq in the face of Syrian, Iranian, Democrat Party and other inspired guerilla warfare and terrorism is definitely a battle plan.
Every time I hear some manicured Washington DC politician or bureaucrat spout off
I want to rip their $500 haicut depilated face-lifted head off and $#!+ down their neck.
Maybe it'ss about time we just let him do that little thing.
al-Maliki = Iranian agent.
He knows damn well that the U.S. is going to bail out of Iraq.
The Bush administration supports the Maliki administration and always has. This is nothing but liberal biased DBM propaganda to smear our great leader. Ignore all the traitors and defeatists among us, as they continue to believe these lies that the media print.
Ok, I don’t really believe what I just wrote, but I wanted to see how dumb it looked. Mr. Maliki speaks fluent english and has flipped us (the US) off more times than we can count.
“Of course they will look for other patrons and partners. Maliki and the Shias naturally will look to Iran.”
Totally agree. Maliki is quite possibly the Shia’s one and only shot at this, except for a widespread escalation of their violence, which at this time still appears very factional and uncoordinated.
I think Maliki’s next act will be to invoke Colin Powells statement that we will leave when asked.....and that....with the “friends elsewhere” threat above is I think exactly what Levin et al are shooting for, possibly set into motion by Pelosi when she visited Syria, from where Maliki has just returned, hint hint.
Ping
Which is precisely Iraq's problem. We freed them. They did not free themselves. As such they have less invested in that freedom. Our leaders were intimately involved in our overthrowing England's yoke. Iraq's new leaders played little or no part in overthrowing Saddam.
Well, when we have Congressional loudmouths spouting off about the need to "remove" an elected Iraqi government, or constantly musing about whether we should impose this or that set of "benchmarks" or "timetables" on the Iraqi government's actions regarding what (we insist) they must and must not do or accomplish by this or that date, and none of this (I assume) comes from or is in accordance with the Iraqi constitution - in other words, I doubt the constitution has a provision such as "at all times, the Iraqi government must do whatever some U.S. congressman insist it must do, by the dates the U.S. congressman insists it does it" - then I can sorta forgive him for saying that the U.S. doesn't care about the Iraq constitution.
As for the rest of it, the "find friends elsewhere" stuff, seems to me this is just the usual Arab politician walking a tricky tightrope and triangulating. Arab politicians who don't, or don't know how to, do this are liable to end up dead.
Because in fairness, you have to understand that this guy, like all members of the Iraqi government, faces an ongoing prospect of him and his family being murdered. At present he is allied with us and that fact helps protect him, but one suspects he is preparing for the day when he can no longer rely on the U.S. - and I can't honestly say he is wrong to do so.
Yes.
Washington was a remarkable guy. I am reading “1776” right now...we sure were lucky.
Didn’t you have some information on Al-Maliki that shines light on this guys past?
Connecting the dots.
Two words: Military Coup
“Hate to say it, but Iraq will never be stabilized until another brutal, ruthless dictator takes it over and suppresses all opposition.”
In the same way the Russians kept the lid on the Balkans. To paraphrase a previous poster to this thread, they (the Iraqis) are children playing in an adult world.
“I am reading “1776” right now”
That’s a great read!
Think again. The Democrats give a rat's a** for Iraq and it's constitution, and they make no secret out of it. The rats are now the majority in Congress.
No. I think he’s telling the (US)dem-holes to go pound salt. Good for him.
Sadly, al-Maliki is the quintessinal 16th century Arab—all bluster and bombast and no substance beyond the perimeter of his tent or village. I expect we’ll go through a lot of these tribalists before we find one or two Iraqis with truly national and international visions. Taking out Sadr and his thugs will go far toward neutralizing al-Maliki and his ilk. It would be interesting to know if this poor excuse of a leader ever gets up enough courage to leave the Green Zone in Baghdad and visit the people he claims to love.
I liked the first Iraqi Prime Minister better. The one in the Transitional Government.. I can’t remember his name. And no, I dont mean Bremmer.
Perhaps he is delusional and is hoping for military support from The Grand Duchy of Fenwick.
“Mr. Maliki speaks fluent english...”
If so, then his little speech to the joint session in DC in Arabic with a 3-day unshaven face was more of a message to the Arab world than I thought at the time, since some newsfolk claimed he didn’t/couldn’t speak english. I was disgusted with that spectacle then, and now to learn he speaks english makes it even more disgusting.
Not to defend Bush..but we didn’t invade specifically to install a Democracy. We invaded to remove a threat.
Not disputing most of your comment, but matter of factly Maliki has recently visited the now secured areas of Anbar and Diyala province (where most of the Sunni insurgency is/was taking place).
“What...is he thinking?”
Perhaps he’s scared. A Muslim and an Arab being nice to non-Muslims (Americans) has to paint a bulls eye in his chest.
If he wants continued U.S. military support (i.e. my Soldiers, me, and 150,000 others like us), then he had damn well better put up with a few metrics from us. We have dumped almost 4,000 lives, over 20,000 or so wounded, and neary hundreds upon hundreds of billions of dollars into this dump, and he thinks he has the right to say, "No one can tell me what to do! No one can hold me accountable!" Bullsh*t.
Every time I hear some manicured Washington DC politician or bureaucrat spout off about "timetables" or "benchmarks" I want to p*ke.
Really? Does it make you sick enough to join up and help us out over here?
Exactly. Actually I'd go farther and say it's far more complex than simple "battle" (which can usually be understood at least on a geographic level, and objective criteria are usually obvious). Here it's not obvious what objective criteria might be, or even if any exist, nor is the lay of the battlefield all that observable. This makes any/all "plans" orders of magnitude more likely to be DOA.
IMHO we need to stop constantly griping about "the Iraqis" and either commit to the military presence, and make the best of it ourselves (applying "benchmarks" and "timetables" to our own actions, if we really must), or not. This constant hinting at somehow linking the ongoing presence/commitment to Iraq's government meeting this or that "benchmark" is just a waste for all concerned. As we are seeing, trying to constantly apply "benchmarks" to a guy who is already viewed as our puppet, and thus walking a very tricky (and dangerous) tightrope, can only backfire and force him into the arms of our enemy.
“3-day unshaven face was more of a message to the Arab world”
Propaganda is propaganda. Funny snip there (lol)
Actually his statement is not implying anything about the US.
The implication is he is trying to deny that he doesn’t give a crap about Iraq or its constitution, and if anyone points out the truth, well, Iraq could find “friends” in Iran or Syria.
That would just about do it do me....I would be out of there. He’s not our friend he. is Iran’s friend.
This is an "AP" (Always Phoney) story again folks, you can't read it too seriously. Where is the actual Maliki quote blaming Bush?
In the absence of a quote, I am going to assume this is just the babble of an anti-Bush AP writer.
Bingo.
Regarding giving the Iraqis democracy, it’s an example of be careful what you wish for because you just might get it.
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