Iraq PM: Country Can Manage Without U.S.
By BUSHRA JUHI (Associated Press Writer)
From Associated Press
July 14, 2007 12:33 PM EDT
BAGHDAD - Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki said Saturday that the Iraqi army and police are capable of keeping security in the country when American troops leave "any time they want," though he acknowledged the forces need further weapons and training.

The embattled prime minister sought to show confidence at a time when congressional pressure is growing for a withdrawal and the Bush administration reported little progress had been made on the most vital of a series of political benchmarks it wants al-Maliki to carry out.

What are the excuses NOW to remain in Iraq?

I see all you Bush supporters do not know what to say!

What are the excuses NOW to remain in Iraq

Col, i am sure you have been following the news. not the obvious and the headlined ones, the ones you get when you read the articles that are buried inside. and also when you read some op-ed articles. that is why i am surprised that you keep asking what is the excuse for staying there?

To me it is really very obvious. I wrote a post about that sometime ago titled "what are they waiting for ..... Really". on April 23 to be exact. i dont know if you read it or commented on it. but since then, those hidden news i mentioned above "almost" confirm what i thought. in short, they are waiting until Kurdistan is secure enough, redeploy there and leave the rest of Iraq to annihilate itself and disappear into oblivion or turn into a terrorists haven. From there they watch Iran, and control the rest.

Whether that is good or bad is debatable. one thing for sure, it will still be a big drain on our military and society in general.

But that is what i think they are waiting for.

What do you think?

LOL.  Col do you understand that because nobody posts to your defeatist nonsense everytime that you write about the same thing that it doesn't make you write?

Get over your Bush obsession.

This has NOTHING to do with me and Bush. The PM of Iraq has said he can now defend Iraq WITHOUT American troops. All he needs is some equipment and weapons. I believe Bush is in SHOCK. My question remains for Mr. Bush-- How can he justify remaining in Iraq NOW? He has said when the Iraqi's Stand Up we will stand down. He also said he has confidence in the Iraqi PM. Thus it is time to remove our troops from Iraq!

If you read the full AP story it is clear that other top Iraqi leaders such Hassan al Suneid are ready for U.S. Forces to leave Iraq. His comments “the situation looks as if it is an experiment in an American Laboratory (judging) whether we succeed or fail". There simply is NO JUSTIFICATION for Bush to keep American Forces in Iraq!

So you believe that the government that you claim is a total failure is capable of defending itself and keeping order? Take your medication and make up your mind.

its not that we have nothing to say, we've said it all. no-one wants to have a conversation with somebody who's mind is completely closed. would it matter what anyone said?

you should get a punching bag or something to help you relax.

Reply By: MasonM Posted: Sunday, July 15, 2007
So you believe that the government that you claim is a total failure is capable of defending itself and keeping order? Take your medication and make up your mind.


What I said is that BUSH proclaimed his confidence in the Iraqi PM. Then HOW does he not accept his assessment that Iraq can now provide for its own security? There is NO rational basis for the U.S. Continue the Surge or remain fighting in Iraq.

Reply By: toothache's revenge Posted: Monday, July 16, 2007
its not that we have nothing to say, we've said it all. no-one wants to have a conversation with somebody who's mind is completely closed. would it matter what anyone said?

The real issue is that no matter what takes place those who blindly support Bush some how SPIN the reality into what Bush does or wants not what is taking place!

Oh Col, when will you learn. Do you ever notice how your own post defeat your own arguments? Here, I'll show you:



From reply #1, see the last word? Training, yes they need more training. How exactly can they be able to defend themselves when they still need more training? And we can't just leave our equipment over there just to save money on shipping it back, last time we gave weapons to an ally you were one of the first to point out how they are using those same weapons against us now. Iraq is still not under control, if it was there would be no need for these announcements cause it would be seen. You are very ignorant to post articles like this when not so long ago you said the Iraqi Gov't was incompetent and so was Bush and now you wanna believe everything they say? It's true what many say, you only cherry pick articles that suit you "bash Bush, obsession with Bush" agenda.

“From reply #1, see the last word? Training, yes they need more training.”

In many prior posts I have said we need to continue to provide training and logistical support. The issue is that the Iraqi military must now do ALL the fighting!

From your own article, the first 2 lines:



Make up your mind, are we gonna provide them with the proper "training and logistical support" (which means we have to stay the course) or are we gonna "order the removal of U.S. Forces from Iraq" (which mean not training them more)?

And if "The issue is that the Iraqi military must now do ALL the fighting!" then why do we need to continue to train them if they think they are ready to fight on their own? And if they must do all the fighting that means that Iraq is still not under control so they still need help. That would mean that we will leave them to fight a battle we started, wow what great allies we are, right?

You're a hypocrite Col. You can't even stick to one idea in your own article. Face it, The report says one thing, the PM says another. You can't have it both ways. You either admit that Bush was right and Iraq is doing good according to both the PM and the documents from the Gov't that states they are good in 8 goals, not so good in 8 goals and undecided in 2 and we keep doing a good job or that BUsh was wrong according to these US documents and the PM is wrong for saying they are ready when they are not and we can not leave as you said we should.

Make a choice.

"The PM of Iraq said today that Iraq can defend itself. All they need is some additional equipment. It is now time for President Bush to order the removal of U.S. Forces from Iraq."

The training and logistics can operate from operate from outside Iraq. The main issue is that we END our involvement in the sectarian fighting which is where MOST of our military effort is being applied!

The issue is that since the Iraqi PM now says they are capable of defending their country it is time for us to turn the combat operations over to the Iraqi’s!

A combat operation I would deploy is one to deal with any al-Qaeda/Hezbollah operation within Iraq. That force would consist of Predator Droned equipped with Hell Fire Missiles to provide real time observation and the ability to engage high value targets in Iraq. The force would have Air Cave and Special Forces when boots on the ground were needed. It would be provided a very substantial air asset in terms of Tac Air as well as precision bombing capability from both the Navy and Air Force. I would engage any al-Qaeda concentration, training or command/supply facility identified but would not become involved on lone term ground occupation. I would not be patrolling the streets of Baghdad or occupying large areas in Iraq. That would be turned over to the 350,000 Iraqi military and police. This quick reaction force could be located in Iraq or in neighboring areas or BOTH. I would substantially increase the real time Intel of the areas where al-Qaeda is operating and take every opportunity to destroy their operations large and small. I would give them NO rest or refuge. That is also true in Afghanistan. If we see that al-Qaeda continued to seek shelter in the border regions of Pakistan and they do not act to deny them the ability of operating in Pakistan, then surgical quick reaction operations would be extended into the border regions of Pakistan. We must take a far more aggressive posture toward al-Qaeda in the region and remove the bulk of our ground forces from Iraq! No more U.S. combat operation in the sectarian fighting in Iraq.