Sadr supporters leave Iraqi government in protest
In protest of Maliki's summit with Dubya, Sadr's supporters have walked out of the government. From The NY Times:
Meantime, "events on the ground," as cable reporters like to intone, are seemingly out of anyone's control.
It may be good domestic politics for the Iraq Study Group to be prominently displayed, but in the end, we have little actual leadership in the executive branch and a possible severe flare-up of violence and tensions in the Middle East.
We're left to speculate about the next move of an administration that has done virtually nothing well since 2001, when it adopted a CIA plan shortly after the September 11 attacks to assist the Northern Alliance in Afghanistan.
That action led to a quick victory over the hated Taliban. (Though the resurgent Taliban is proving the "victory" has been short lived). But then the focus shifted to a preemptive invasion of Iraq.
We can hope as Americans that even at this late date, someone will talk some sense into Bush, although that's a lot to hope for. He wants to "win" in Iraq so that his presidential library can glorify his war, but the rest of us just want him to stop being so stubborn. Congress is going to have to lead.
I've been thinking that impeachment is a political impossibility, but unless Bush gets a clue and stops it with the absurd platitudes about Iraq, that may change. The clock is ticking.
Lawmakers and cabinet members in Baghdad who are loyal to the anti-American cleric Moktada al-Sadr followed through on a threat to boycott the government if Mr. Maliki went ahead with his meeting with Mr. Bush, and suspended their participation in both the parliament and the cabinet, The Associated Press reported. Mr. Sadr controls one of the biggest blocs of seats in Parliament; last week he reiterated his claim that the American presence was the root cause of the rising violence in Iraq.The traditional media continues to focus on the Iraq Study Group, which is reportedly still debating troop levels in meetings at the Woodrow Wilson Center. (No, you can't make this stuff up.)
In Amman, there were signs that the American president would be greeted with a decidedly blunt message. Slogans on banners condemned American hegemony; details of a possible march were being worked out, and DVD’s of a British movie depicting the fictional assassination of President Bush sold briskly here while the police cordoned off streets in preparation for the summit meeting.
Meantime, "events on the ground," as cable reporters like to intone, are seemingly out of anyone's control.
It may be good domestic politics for the Iraq Study Group to be prominently displayed, but in the end, we have little actual leadership in the executive branch and a possible severe flare-up of violence and tensions in the Middle East.
We're left to speculate about the next move of an administration that has done virtually nothing well since 2001, when it adopted a CIA plan shortly after the September 11 attacks to assist the Northern Alliance in Afghanistan.
That action led to a quick victory over the hated Taliban. (Though the resurgent Taliban is proving the "victory" has been short lived). But then the focus shifted to a preemptive invasion of Iraq.
We can hope as Americans that even at this late date, someone will talk some sense into Bush, although that's a lot to hope for. He wants to "win" in Iraq so that his presidential library can glorify his war, but the rest of us just want him to stop being so stubborn. Congress is going to have to lead.
I've been thinking that impeachment is a political impossibility, but unless Bush gets a clue and stops it with the absurd platitudes about Iraq, that may change. The clock is ticking.
