Prime Minister Nouri Maliki has said in a magazine inteview that the U.S. should get out of Iraq as soon as possible and in a slap to President Bush, he's lauded B. Hussein Obama's plan as the right course. Here's the details from Breitbart:
Now, a few observations on this:
1. My guess is that Maliki was asked if Obama's time frame for withdrawl was correct and he answered the question - I don't think he was exactly supporting Obama in that acknowledgement.
2. Maliki has always suffered from a big ego and a false sense of security. He has often called major battles and operations a success way before they were and at times, he has been flat out embarassed by his remarks.
3. While Maliki seems ungrateful to some degree here, there is some validity in that certain factions of his government want the U.S. out now and view us still as "occupiers."
But for Maliki to seemingly wade into the American debate here at home and in essence, appear to be approving of Obama, is a disaster. It's my opinion that Maliki just has no idea what is going to happen when U.S. troops leave. Yes, his army and security forces have come a long way but they are in no way prepared for Iranian operations in his country when the U.S. leaves and if he thinks al Qaeda is just going to stay out after America is gone, he's sorely mistaken.
I think this is why the administration is being so cautious on timetables - the minute they establish a date of withdrawl, the forces of al Qaeda and every two bit Sunni insurgency group in Iraq is going to regroup, replan and reappoint jihadist forces. My prediction is that within a month of a U.S. withdrawl (meaning the majority of U.S. troops), there will be another Golden Mosque type bombing by al Qaeda that will bring the sectarian violence back.
I understand Maliki wants to run his own ship but I doubt he realizes the number of crew members he has that have never given up on their mutiny plans.
Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki says U.S. troops should leave Iraq "as soon as possible," according to a magazine report, and he called presidential candidate Barack Obama's suggestion of 16 months "the right timeframe for a withdrawal."
In an interview with Germany's Der Spiegel magazine released Saturday, al-Maliki said he was not seeking to endorse Obama. The Illinois senator and likely Democratic nominee has pledged to withdraw combat troops from Iraq within 16 months if he is elected.
"That, we think, would be the right timeframe for a withdrawal, with the possibility of slight changes," al-Maliki was quoted as saying. "Those who operate on the premise of short time periods in Iraq today are being more realistic. Artificially prolonging the tenure of U.S. troops in Iraq would cause problems."
Now, a few observations on this:
1. My guess is that Maliki was asked if Obama's time frame for withdrawl was correct and he answered the question - I don't think he was exactly supporting Obama in that acknowledgement.
2. Maliki has always suffered from a big ego and a false sense of security. He has often called major battles and operations a success way before they were and at times, he has been flat out embarassed by his remarks.
3. While Maliki seems ungrateful to some degree here, there is some validity in that certain factions of his government want the U.S. out now and view us still as "occupiers."
But for Maliki to seemingly wade into the American debate here at home and in essence, appear to be approving of Obama, is a disaster. It's my opinion that Maliki just has no idea what is going to happen when U.S. troops leave. Yes, his army and security forces have come a long way but they are in no way prepared for Iranian operations in his country when the U.S. leaves and if he thinks al Qaeda is just going to stay out after America is gone, he's sorely mistaken.
I think this is why the administration is being so cautious on timetables - the minute they establish a date of withdrawl, the forces of al Qaeda and every two bit Sunni insurgency group in Iraq is going to regroup, replan and reappoint jihadist forces. My prediction is that within a month of a U.S. withdrawl (meaning the majority of U.S. troops), there will be another Golden Mosque type bombing by al Qaeda that will bring the sectarian violence back.
I understand Maliki wants to run his own ship but I doubt he realizes the number of crew members he has that have never given up on their mutiny plans.
Iraqi PM says US should leave as soon as possible
Asked when U.S. forces would leave Iraq, he responded, "As soon as possible, as far a we're concerned."
The national security adviser to the Obama campaign, Susan Rice, said the senator welcomed Maliki's support.
"This presents an important opportunity to transition to Iraqi responsibility, while restoring our military and increasing our commitment to finish the fight in Afghanistan," Rice said in a statement Saturday.
Obama arrived on his first visit to Afghanistan on Saturday, less than four months before the general election. He also is expected to stop later in Iraq.
Obama's Republican presidential rival, John McCain, has criticized him for his lack of experience in the region. McCain has suggested he would pursue an Iraq strategy "that's working"—a reference to the troop buildup credited for sharply reducing violence in the country.
Al-Maliki is scheduled to visit Germany next week for talks with Chancellor Angela Merkel and business leaders amid a renewed German push in helping to rebuild Iraq. Berlin had opposed the 2003 U.S.-led invasion of Iraq.
No comments:
Post a Comment