“Mission Accomplished”– Part Deux?
Well, he didn’t have his “Mission Accomplished” flight suit on in Baghdad today, but Bush’s media and political advisers have certainly seemed eager to create (and then exploit) another key “victory photo op” to rally the flagging Republican base in the lead-up to the November elections.
AP’s Terence Hunt writes that Bush’s ostensible “host” there in the Baghdad Green Zone, PM Nuri al-Maliki, was given all of five minutes warning about the “guest” who, unbeknownst to him, had already flown into his country and was now anxious to meet him in the Republican Palace.
So much for Iraq’s “sovereignty”.
Hunt also told us about this crucial exchange between the two men:
- “God willing, all the suffering will be over. And all the soldiers will return to their country with our gratitude for what they have offered, the sacrifice,” al-Maliki said through a translator.
Bush made it clear, however, that a U.S. military presence — now at about 132,000 troops — would continue for awhile.
The NYT had a good article in today (before the news about Bush’s “Mission Mission Accomplished” was released.) In it, David Sanger and Jim Rutenberg wrote about Monday having seen the first day of a two-day gathering of top-level Bush advisers, convened in the Camp David presidential “retreat” center 40 minutes north of Washington DC to discuss options at the present “critical juncture” in Iraq.
Sanger and Rutenberg wrote:
- The meeting was as much a media event as it was a high-level strategy session, devised to send a message that this is “an important break point for the Iraqi people and for our mission in Iraq from the standpoint of the American people,” in the words of the White House counselor, Dan Bartlett.
It came as Republicans began a new effort to use last week’s events to turn the war to their political advantage after months of anxiety, and to sharpen attacks against Democrats. On Monday night, the president’s top political strategist, Karl Rove, told supporters in New Hampshire that if the Democrats had their way, Iraq would fall to terrorists and Abu Musab al-Zarqawi would not have been killed.
“When it gets tough, and when it gets difficult, they fall back on that party’s old pattern of cutting and running,” Mr. Rove said at a state Republican Party gathering in Manchester.
It is now clear that convening the Camp David gathering was also a clever way to pull together Bush’s key advisers and prepare them for their trip to Baghdad in a place somewhat away from the public eye. (And also, as AP’s Hunt noted, to provide a pretext for Maliki be in the “Republican Palace” in Baghdad at just the right time… since he had originally been told to be there for a videoconference with Bush.)
So which “key advisers” do you imagine Bush took with him to Baghdad? According to the listing given in this noon-Tuesday story on the NYT website,
- He was accompanied by senior aides like National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley, Chief of Staff Josh Bolten, Mr. Bartlett, Deputy Chief of Staff Joe Hagan and the White House spokesman, Tony Snow.
So that is one foreign-policy specialist, two domestic-policy specialists, and two public affairs flaks…
God help the Iraqi people.
There is very interesting article in NYT about Meghan L. O’Sullivana deputy national security adviser, helps to brief President Bush.
She was worked with Paul Bremer before in Iraq.
Looks Bush take lot info from her before this visit!
at first I thught this was just a victory lap for the zarqawi thing, but then I heard it was planned long in advance of that. I think it’s good he went because there is not enough attention on the process there. I doubt most immigration obsessed americans even know who or what al maliki is
The press is making a big deal about the surprise trip, and the secrecy. Al-Maliki wasn’t informed about it until 5 minutes prior. Bush had to take a heavily-secured helicopter trip to the Green Zone. This is because Iraq is too dangerous for him to drive in, and they’re afraid of spies and insurgent-sympathizers in the Iraqi government. This doesn’t bode well.
You know why Bush Baba in Baghdad?
The answer simple Bush Baba went their to sing the contracts that will Handel all Iraq oil assets to US companies
Its five hours enough to singe and farewell the VIP Bush Baba.
Plans are now afoot for sweeping changes to Iraq’s oil sector, to give western oil majors access to its reserves for the first time since 1972.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,,1498155,00.html
Control of Iraq’s future oil wealth is being handed to multinational oil companies through long-term contracts that will cost Iraq hundreds of billions of dollars.
Crude Designs: the Rip-Off of Iraq’s Oil Wealth reveals that current Iraqi oil policy will allocate the development of at least 64% of Iraq’s reserves to foreign oil companies. Iraq has the world’s third largest oil reserves.
Figures published in the report for the first time show:
• the estimated cost to Iraq over the life of the new oil contracts is $74 to $194 billion, compared with leaving oil development in public hands. These sums represent between two and seven times the current Iraqi state budget.
• the contracts would guarantee massive profits to foreign companies, with rates of return of 42% to 162%.
The kinds of contracts that will provide these returns are known as production sharing agreements (PSAs). PSAs have been heavily promoted by the US government and oil majors and have the backing of senior figures in the Iraqi Oil Ministry. Britain has also encouraged Iraq to open its oilfields to foreign investment.
However PSAs last for 25-40 years, are usually secret and prevent governments from later altering the terms of the contract.
I’ve heard others repeat the idea, which I accept, that the measure of whether or not Iraq is “secure” is when Bush (or some other high Administration person) can fly into Baghdad, announced, and use his regular security detail to move about.
When this happens, Iraq will be secure. But obviously it isn’t happening soon. That’s why he has to sneak into Iraq.
Interesting point I’ve heard in the news– the source escapes me– is that new plans involve using 75,000 troops to secure Baghdad in order to make it safe. This seems amazing to me when I think about it, apart even from the irony of FINALLY making the capital of Iraq secure three years after “Mission Accomplished.” What amazes me is that they are going to use more than half of their 130,000+ force to secure the major city in the center of Iraq. That leave about 55,000 troops to secure the rest of Iraq, including its borders. Can they do it with that small of force?
The move seems one of desperation.
Guys
Aol reports
British troops to quit Iraq – report
Keeping watch: But British soldiers are set to quit southern Iraq, according to a new report
– Search: Iraq’s deadly insurgency
British, Australian and Japanese troops will transfer security responsibilities in southern Iraq to Iraqi authorities next week, and will withdraw from the area soon after, according to a news report.
At a defence meeting of the three countries last week in London, British officials told their counterparts that Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki would announce the transfer of security authority in southern Iraq on Tuesday, Kyodo News agency reported, citing coalition sources.
London would then immediately announce the pullout of its forces from the southern province of al-Muthanna, and Japan and Australia would follow with a similar announcement on Wednesday, Kyodo said.
The report carried no official comment from London. It came after Japan’s top government spokesman denied Tokyo had a set a date to withdraw its non-combat troops from southern Iraq.
“We are not aware that the security responsibilities will be transferred to Iraqi authorities on a specific date or in a specific province,” he told reporters on Friday, adding that Japan had not set a specific date for withdrawing its troops from the country.
Foreign Minister Taro Aso hinted at an early withdrawal. “We feel that the conditions are falling in place for an early withdrawal,” he told reporters on Friday.
And Iraq’s deputy prime minister Salam Zikam Ali al-Zubaie said that Iraq had an agreement to take over security responsibilities from foreign forces in southern Iraq this month.
“There is an agreement to take over the security responsibilities from the British, Australian and Japanese forces in southern Iraq during this month,” al-Zubaie said.
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“There is such a plan and such news is not based on nothing. We hope that the Iraqi security forces will live up to their duties there. It is the dream of all Iraqis that our forces will handle security issues all over Iraq.”