PrintJuly 20, 2008
Democrats Proclaim Themselves Geniuses Because Maliki Agrees with Obama
My, what a difference a couple of years make.
It was two summers ago that Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki visited Washington and addressed a joint session of Congress.
Except there were quite a few empty seats in the Chamber when the Prime Minister rose to speak. That's because Democrats were boycotting Maliki's historic appearance according to some, because he was an American "puppet" and not the head of an independent country.
That was then, this is now.
Yesterday, Maliki told German news magazine Der Speigel that he supported Barack Obama's 16 month timetable for withdrawal of American troops. A corrected statement put out later by the PM's office delinked Maliki's statement from Obama's specific call for a timetable but his meaning was clear. Maliki said that those advocating a withdrawal where Americans come out "sooner rather than later" are being more "realistic.
So, we're going. But why are the Democrats making such a huge deal out of Maliki's statements? They are giddy with joy over the fact that Maliki is acting like the independent head of a sovereign country when just two years ago they were saying exactly the opposite.
Which is it? Is Maliki a puppet or is he independent? Obviously, when Maliki isn't doing what Democrats want he is a puppet. When his ideas reflect their thinking, he isn't.
Wow, what sophistication. Such nuance.
Hypocrites.
Then let's remember that the Democrats have been calling for withdrawal even when doing so would have been a catastrophic setback for Iraqi security. They were calling for a withdrawl even when doing so would have meant a humiliating defeat for the US as we would have abandoned the field of battle to the enemy while under fire. They were calling for a withdrawal even when doing so meant that thousands - perhaps tens of thousands of Iraqis would have been butchered in unrestrained sectarian violence. They were calling for a withdrawal even when al-Qaeda was at the heighth of its power in Iraq, controlling wide swaths of the country and was poised - once we left - to make a bid for carving out an independent duchy that would have given them shelter and protection to mount operations worldwide. They were calling for a withdrawal even when Shia militias were roaming the streets murdering innocent Sunnis while the poorly trained and corrupt Iraqi police and army looked on and did nothing.
They were calling for a withdrawal even as President Bush changed our counter-insurgency strategy and put General Petreaus in charge of a surge in US troop numbers - a surge every major Democrat including their nominee for president screamed at the top of their voices would be an utter, total, and complete failure. They were calling for a withdrawal even when the surge began to work and violence was dropping. They called for a withdrawal even when they called Petreaus a liar to his face and that he was "cooking the books" on the falloff in violence in Iraq. They were calling for a withdrawal - and saying the war in Iraq was "lost" or a "failure" - as late as the beginning of this year. They were calling for a withdrawal even as the Iraqi government slowly and painfully began to move toward political reconciliation, denigrating these efforts as "too little too late" while predicting that once the extra troops associated with the surge went home, the violence would pick up again.
They have opposed, obstructed, denigrated, mocked, accused the military of lying, predicted disaster again and again and again, all the while calling Maliki a "puppet" and the Iraqi government a joke.
I guess we should simply forget their previous stupidity and call them geniuses now?
UPDATE
For those who believe the clarification from Maliki's office. that I mention and link to above, substantially changes the political dynamic in this country, i.e. Democrats (Obama) are geniuses because they were "ahead of the curve" on withdrawing from Iraq, you are incorrect. Allah from Hot Air:
As if it’s not bad enough that they’re trying to spin this after the fact, the Times reports that the statement was put out by Centcom, just to make the U.S. fingerprints on it extra legible, I guess. In any event, Maliki’s desire to make any timetable contingent upon further security gains was already clear from the Spiegel translation — or more specifically, the first version of the Spiegel translation, before they went and surreptitiously changed it.
The PM's clarifying statement was released through CENTCOM which means it has the White House's fingerprints all over it. The only real change from the Der Speigel interview has to do with making withdrawals contingent on further improvements in security - which is what Bush and Maliki agreed upon on Friday.
The fact is, McCain is in an awful tough spot now that Maliki has basically agreed with his opponent. No doubt McCain will try and change the subject and point to Obama's wretched judgment on the surge as well as his many previous calls for withdrawal when the situation in Iraq was dire.
It may very well be that Iraq is less of a campaign issue for McCain than it is now for Obama. How this plays out will probably be fairly predictable. The media will declare Obama the second coming of Bismark and the inexperience in foreign policy issue will be dead and buried.
It was two summers ago that Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki visited Washington and addressed a joint session of Congress.
Except there were quite a few empty seats in the Chamber when the Prime Minister rose to speak. That's because Democrats were boycotting Maliki's historic appearance according to some, because he was an American "puppet" and not the head of an independent country.
That was then, this is now.
Yesterday, Maliki told German news magazine Der Speigel that he supported Barack Obama's 16 month timetable for withdrawal of American troops. A corrected statement put out later by the PM's office delinked Maliki's statement from Obama's specific call for a timetable but his meaning was clear. Maliki said that those advocating a withdrawal where Americans come out "sooner rather than later" are being more "realistic.
So, we're going. But why are the Democrats making such a huge deal out of Maliki's statements? They are giddy with joy over the fact that Maliki is acting like the independent head of a sovereign country when just two years ago they were saying exactly the opposite.
Which is it? Is Maliki a puppet or is he independent? Obviously, when Maliki isn't doing what Democrats want he is a puppet. When his ideas reflect their thinking, he isn't.
Wow, what sophistication. Such nuance.
Hypocrites.
Then let's remember that the Democrats have been calling for withdrawal even when doing so would have been a catastrophic setback for Iraqi security. They were calling for a withdrawl even when doing so would have meant a humiliating defeat for the US as we would have abandoned the field of battle to the enemy while under fire. They were calling for a withdrawal even when doing so meant that thousands - perhaps tens of thousands of Iraqis would have been butchered in unrestrained sectarian violence. They were calling for a withdrawal even when al-Qaeda was at the heighth of its power in Iraq, controlling wide swaths of the country and was poised - once we left - to make a bid for carving out an independent duchy that would have given them shelter and protection to mount operations worldwide. They were calling for a withdrawal even when Shia militias were roaming the streets murdering innocent Sunnis while the poorly trained and corrupt Iraqi police and army looked on and did nothing.
They were calling for a withdrawal even as President Bush changed our counter-insurgency strategy and put General Petreaus in charge of a surge in US troop numbers - a surge every major Democrat including their nominee for president screamed at the top of their voices would be an utter, total, and complete failure. They were calling for a withdrawal even when the surge began to work and violence was dropping. They called for a withdrawal even when they called Petreaus a liar to his face and that he was "cooking the books" on the falloff in violence in Iraq. They were calling for a withdrawal - and saying the war in Iraq was "lost" or a "failure" - as late as the beginning of this year. They were calling for a withdrawal even as the Iraqi government slowly and painfully began to move toward political reconciliation, denigrating these efforts as "too little too late" while predicting that once the extra troops associated with the surge went home, the violence would pick up again.
They have opposed, obstructed, denigrated, mocked, accused the military of lying, predicted disaster again and again and again, all the while calling Maliki a "puppet" and the Iraqi government a joke.
I guess we should simply forget their previous stupidity and call them geniuses now?
UPDATE
For those who believe the clarification from Maliki's office. that I mention and link to above, substantially changes the political dynamic in this country, i.e. Democrats (Obama) are geniuses because they were "ahead of the curve" on withdrawing from Iraq, you are incorrect. Allah from Hot Air:
As if it’s not bad enough that they’re trying to spin this after the fact, the Times reports that the statement was put out by Centcom, just to make the U.S. fingerprints on it extra legible, I guess. In any event, Maliki’s desire to make any timetable contingent upon further security gains was already clear from the Spiegel translation — or more specifically, the first version of the Spiegel translation, before they went and surreptitiously changed it.
The PM's clarifying statement was released through CENTCOM which means it has the White House's fingerprints all over it. The only real change from the Der Speigel interview has to do with making withdrawals contingent on further improvements in security - which is what Bush and Maliki agreed upon on Friday.
The fact is, McCain is in an awful tough spot now that Maliki has basically agreed with his opponent. No doubt McCain will try and change the subject and point to Obama's wretched judgment on the surge as well as his many previous calls for withdrawal when the situation in Iraq was dire.
It may very well be that Iraq is less of a campaign issue for McCain than it is now for Obama. How this plays out will probably be fairly predictable. The media will declare Obama the second coming of Bismark and the inexperience in foreign policy issue will be dead and buried.
