Security politics

Posted: Monday, October 16, 2006 9:16 AM by Mark Murray
Filed Under: Security

Today, Bush meets with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and UN Ambassador John Bolton to talk about North Korea and attends a dinner with Muslim leaders. "North Korea's apparent nuclear test last week triggered the kind of partisan sniping rarely heard when the United States faces an international crisis," notes the Hartford Courant, which focuses on how it played in the already up-and-running presidential race.

"Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki said in an interview with USA TODAY that his government will not force militias to disarm until later this year or early next year, despite escalating violence in Baghdad fueled by death squads and religious warfare. Al-Maliki's remarks point to a growing gap between the U.S. and Iraqi governments over how to handle growing sectarian violence... Al-Maliki also predicted a significant U.S. troop withdrawal starting early next year, despite the growing violence."

Sen. Chuck Hagel has joined his GOP colleagues John Warner and Olympia Snowe (as reported in First Read last week) in calling for a change of course in Iraq.

Former Secretary of State Jim Baker, now co-chair of the bipartisan Iraq Study Group, does MSNBC's Hardball today. Baker's group "intends to propose significant changes in the administration's strategy by early next year," reports the Los Angeles Times. "Two options under consideration would represent reversals of U.S. policy: withdrawing American troops in phases, and bringing neighboring Iran and Syria into a joint effort to stop the fighting... If the panel recommends overhauling Bush's approach to Iraq, it could give a boost not only to critics of current policy but also to officials in the administration who have argued for broad changes."

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Comments

it is common knowledge thar iraqs have been leaving thier country due to violence there. the question is if iraq is not worth fighting for by iraqs why are americans dieing everyday for iraq?

mikeeg,abdn,wa (Sent Monday, October 16, 2006 11:06 AM)

I agee with Mike. We in the US cannot want freedom and democracy in Iraq more than the Iraqis do. 700,000 of the upper middle class have left the country in the past couple of months. What are we left with? an insurgency and a population that doesn't know how to govern itself.

Kate NJ Voorhees, NJ (Sent Monday, October 16, 2006 11:50 AM)

A busy day for the President. First comes North Korean and what to do about all those Generals who sit behind Kim Jong Il at parades, with their giant Soviet-style hats and chests full of Medals. The White House is scared stiff of Generals with chests full of Medals, no matter where they are from, but those big Commie-hats are really frightening! After that, he goes to a feed with Muslim Leaders where he gets to toss around the "C" word. Now Caliphate is different than Emirate, according to the GOP Thesaurus. Emirates, like the one in Kuwait, don't allow Democracy but still care for the "Little Guy". Kind of like what Republicans are pulling off in America. Caliphates on the other hand, are Bad, Bad, Bad, 'cause they not only don't allow Democracy, they don't allow Republicans! Look for Dubya to lecture everybody about everything the way only he can do it.

Steve Turner Cedar Falls Iowa (Sent Monday, October 16, 2006 1:06 PM)

Stalin had the bomb and never used it. The amount of his countrymen he killed make Hitler and Saddam Hussein look like pikers in comparison. China has the bomb and has never used it. They are more interested in economic and political stability than they are in ruling the world. India and Pakistan have the bomb and they are only interested in it so they can use it on one another if they have to. Yet, they are finding ways to negotiate because they didn't want to escalate from conventional to nuclear war. Britain has the bomb but they have never used it and never would unless they were attacked and knew it was their last available option. Israel has the bomb and they would use it in a heartbeat if they felt threatened by anyone. Of all these countries who have nuclear weapons, not one of them have used them against their enemies, including North Korea. The US government is the only one who has used the bomb. If you lived in any other country who would you fear the most: the country who has the bomb clearly for defensive purposes and has never used it or the country who has used it and refuses to sign a treaty stating they won't use it first (again)? This is almost like someone coming into your house and saying "I won't allow you to have a gun but I can't promise I won't attack you either." We may be fools and believe in this crap but the rest of the world isn't so stupid.

Robert Catalano, Salem, OR (Sent Monday, October 16, 2006 4:40 PM)

I wish I had 10 minutes to tell (yet another) BushCo Chicken hawk exactly what's wrong with him. I'm so sick of "tough guy" cowards like Bolton.

Lee Steele (Sent Monday, October 16, 2006 4:48 PM)

Most of the world is safe from American Thermonucular Devices. Only Sri Lanka, Burma, Kampucea, Thailand, Laos, Ladakh, Sikkim, Bhutan, Nepal, Mongolia, and Tibet are in danger. Why? Because Historically, the U.S. only nukes Buddhists.

Steve Turner Cedar Falls Iowa (Sent Monday, October 16, 2006 5:34 PM)

So now Maliki will not even try to disarm the militias who are killing hundreds of Iraqis! MAYBE next year he will get around to it. In the meantime, our troops are in the middle of a civil war (I don't care what anyone else calls it, that is what it is!) and if we start pulling out troops a few battalions at a time, what about the ones that are left toward the last? They will be sitting ducks, with militias probably targeting them and also any other individuals and groups that feel like they can kill or injure them with impunity. I sure wouldn't want to be one of the last of our military scheduled to leave Iraq, would you? I have a gret idea - let's send some of the politicians who were and are in support of this war over there to take the place of our military. That'll learn 'em, durn 'em!

Gwen Packard, Veyo, Utah (Sent Monday, October 16, 2006 7:04 PM)

Here is an idea as the last Battalion of our boys are pulling out put Bush W Lite and Cheny Rummy and Condi on outer Security armed only with 1st Gen M-16's and equipped with the Body armour that they forced some of the troops that they sent over there to fight in and also sitting in an unarmed Humvee. Wonder how safe they would feel then.

Ed IL (Sent Tuesday, October 17, 2006 12:55 PM)

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