It's unfortunate the president can't see his way clear of a successful lynching of Saddam to remove the troops and get them out of harm's way of the Civil War that is escalating day by day.
Yesterday, Prime Minister Maliki was found to have a secret office (click on) and if not that an agenda that would favor Shia majority over any other ethnic group. If you ask me it all comes down to the same thing, fear. Fear the Shia have had to face for decades of time since Middle East oil has been coveted by the West and dealing with governments that harbor that oil were primarily Sunnis.
The point is there is a definitive Civil War in Iraq and Bush has placed the USA in a precarious place in without a clear mission. We need to leave.
In recent events, it has been noted that the Sunnis of An Albar Province in Iraq (click on) are succeeding with instillation of a military force to match that of the al Qaeda presence there. All this while the Saudi King is changing his tone with the USA (click on) and Iraq (click on). In addition, with the Sunni province of An Albar obviously getting a boost from it's Saudi border in finding the resources it needs to declare autonomy, the ministers are threatening to leave the Unity goverment (click on).
All this while the Shia majority, within it's right, has ruled the country to their favor. The issue is will the Shia be protected by Bush's military. They aren't taking any chances. The Iranian ministry is meeting with the Grand Ayatollah al Sistani (click on) to shore up support for the Shia forces and/or militias in Iraq while support is building for the Sunnis with Saudi Arabia. The issue of militias surviving the 'surge' is much on the minds of the Shia (click on).
That isn't the entire picture of upheaval in the area surrounding Iraq. While the Shia have been productive under the former No Fly Zone, so have the Kurds and with USA support over four years of military advancement one has to wonder what the heck is going on in Turkey (click on) when one realizes the desire for a Kurdistan (click on).
It is safe to say that Iraq is not so much a burgeoning democray so much as a huge regional war. Realize the Russians saw it all coming. We don't belong there, because as soon as Bush further surplants a USA presence there, it will be WW III. In no time, and that is why he wanted a 'blank check' for his Neocon ambitions.
The odd extreme of this is why would an Iranian backed Shia government in Iraq want the USA there unless there was a much bigger plan to annihilate the ability of the USA to respond to a European invasion through Turkey by Islamic elements all to interested in destroying the West.
By Ahmed Rasheed
BAGHDAD (Reuters) - The Iraqi government has sent a draft oil law to parliament, a major step towards meeting one of the political benchmarks Washington has set for Baghdad.
BAGHDAD (Reuters) - The Iraqi government has sent a draft oil law to parliament, a major step towards meeting one of the political benchmarks Washington has set for Baghdad.
The announcement by Oil Minister Hussain al-Shahristani on Wednesday came on the eve of a major conference in Egypt where industrialized powers and neighbors will discuss how to stabilize Iraq and seek reforms in return for reconstruction.
The draft is crucial to regulating how wealth from Iraq's oil reserves would be shared by its sectarian and ethnic groups.
Benchmarks are a Republican 'DESIGN' to continue the war and escalate it and it is why a time table was correct. A time table would give the warring civil parties the exit from Iraq the parties are seeking while setting limits on American engagement there. The real place for the USA is in Afghanistan with the Brits and NATO. It is why staying in Iraq is an advantage to the Islamists that would like to divide and destroy The West.
Bush wants a war in Baghdad to secure his nation building strategy that secures the Iraq oil supply to the USA and his cronies profits. It has nothing to do with USA national security or what is best for our European allies. Bush's 'surge' strategy will destroy the ability of The West to handle Islamic aggression and not enhance it. Baghdad is of little consequence once the break down of the provinces occurs into three autonomous nations. Baghdad only supports a Unity Government which is quickly falling apart with the exit of Shia from the Iraqi Cabinet and Sunnis threatening to leave the parliament.
It's over in Iraq. We need to leave and soon. The Iraqis have been developing shadow governments for their three provinces for a long time. The only result to continued USA involvement is an escalating war, body count and national debt. That is the last of what we need in the USA. The Middle East needs to secure it's own peace.
...The group didn't mention deadlines, the source of the current standoff between Bush and Congress, but used the phrase "bring our troops home as soon as prudently possible."
The legislators said the cost to Washington state has been enormous, including 67 casualties from the state and a pro rated share of the cost estimated at $8.6 billion. That money could have been used for health care or other pressing needs, they said.
The lawmakers called for strong federal programs for returning veterans and support for the Washington National Guard, which is supplying troops and equipment....
