[Vision2020] Al-Maliki: U.S. can leave 'any time'

[pkraut at moscow.com]

I am well aware that Maliki thinks we can go but I am do not think he is 
full aware of what is going to happen. And I know that the Associated 
Press couldn't wait to print this request. But, is it really what is 
needed or will it be the best for all concerned? We all want our troops 
home but I also do not want them to have to return in a few months just to 
do the same thing again! 


> You really ought to read the paper once in a while, pk.
> 
> >From today's (July 15, 2007) Spokesman review -
> 
> ----------------------------------------------------------------
> 
> Al-Maliki: U.S. can leave 'any time'
> 
> BAGHDAD - Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki shrugged off U.S. doubts of his
> government's military and political progress on Saturday, saying Iraqi
> forces are capable and American troops can leave "any time they want."
> 
> Al-Maliki sought to display confidence at a time when pressure is 
mounting
> in Congress for a speedy withdrawal of U.S. forces. On Thursday, the 
House
> passed a measure calling for the U.S. to withdraw its troops by spring,
> hours after the White House reported mixed progress by the Iraqi 
government
> toward meeting 18 benchmarks.
> 
> During a press conference, al-Maliki shrugged off the progress report,
> saying that difficulty in enacting the reforms was "natural" given Iraq's
> turmoil. "We are not talking about a government in a stable political
> environment but one in the shadow of huge challenges," he said.
> 
> Al-Maliki said his government needs "time and effort" to enact the 
political
> reforms that Washington seeks.
> 
> But he said if necessary, Iraqi police and soldiers could fill the void 
left
> by the departure of coalition forces.
> 
> "We say in full confidence that we are able, God willing, to take the
> responsibility completely in running the security file if the 
international
> forces withdraw at any time they want," he said.
> 
> One of al-Maliki's close advisers, Shiite lawmaker Hassan al-Suneid,
> bristled over the U.S. pressure, telling the Associated Press that "the
> situation looks as if it is an experiment in an American laboratory
> (judging) whether we succeed or fail."
> 
> He sharply criticized the U.S. military, saying it was committing human
> rights violations and embarrassing the Iraqi government through such 
tactics
> as building a wall around Baghdad's Sunni neighborhood of Azamiyah and
> launching repeated raids on suspected Shiite militiamen in the capital's
> slum of Sadr City.
> 
> ----------------------------------------------------------------
> 
> Seeya round town, Moscow.
> 
> Tom Hansen
> Moscow, Idaho
> 
> "We're a town of about 23,000 with 10,000 college students. The college
> students are not very active in local elections (thank goodness!)."
> 
> - Dale Courtney (March 28, 2007)
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> 
> From: vision2020-bounces at moscow.com [mailto:vision2020-
bounces at moscow.com]
> On Behalf Of pkraut at moscow.com
> Sent: Sunday, July 15, 2007 2:52 PM
> To: vision2020 at mail-gw.fsr.net
> Subject: Re: [Vision2020] George W Told the Nation
> 
> Funny...I was just watching the Iraqi ambassador on c-span and that 
isn't 
> what he said! Do you have some inside info that didn't come from our 
> mainsteam press?? Because if you don't read or watch something other 
than 
> CNN you do not know what you are talking about!
> 
> 
> 
> > Donovan --
> > 
> > We don't live in your fantasy world, where a competent leader has
> > command of an omnipotent military able to sacrifice what is necessary
> > to turn Iraq into a functional state. We happen to live in America,
> > where the most incompetent President of a generation leads a severely
> > weakened military amidst the ruins of Iraqi civil society. Your
> > fantasy situation, where we can do sufficient good to make up for our
> > inexcusable mistake, simply isn't going to occur.
> > 
> > The Iraqi people want us out. The American people want us out. The
> > Iraqi government says "we can leave at any time."
> > 
> > -- ACS
> 
> 
> 




---------------------------------------------
This message was sent by First Step Internet.
           http://www.fsr.com/