Time Is Up On Rice’s ‘Two To Three Month’ Window For Escalation
Time Is Up On Rice’s ‘Two To Three Month’ Window For Escalation
On Jan. 11, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that the Bush administration would not “stay married” to its Baghdad security plan if the Iraqis do “not [live] up to their part of the obligation.” She said that “the most important thing that the Iraqi government has to do right now is to reestablish the confidence of its population that it’s going to be even-handed in defending it,” otherwise “this plan is not going to work.” Watch it:
Those two to three months are up, and recent troubling reports indicate that Maliki’s office has not been “even-handed” in defending the Iraqi population and has actually increased sectarian tensions:
– “A department of the Iraqi prime minister’s office is playing a leading role in the arrest and removal of senior Iraqi army and national police officers, some of whom had apparently worked too aggressively to combat violent Shiite militias.”
– According to a recent poll, Maliki inspires confidence in 72 percent of Shiites, but just eight percent of Sunnis.
– “The UN has sharply criticised the Iraqi government’s human rights record, in the two months since a security plan was launched in the capital, Baghdad. The UN mission for Iraq said Iraqi authorities had failed to guarantee the basic rights of about 3,000 people they had detained in the operations.”
– In its April 26 Iraq Index, the Brookings Institution found “no progress thus far” on four of Rice’s benchmarks: establishing new election laws, scheduling provincial elections, disbanding militias, or putting together a plan for national reconciliation.
Even though the Iraqi government has been largely unsuccessful in meeting its political benchmarks, the Bush administration refuses to change its plan in Iraq. Yesterday on CBS’s Face the Nation, Rice said that the administration opposes imposing any “so-called consequences” on Maliki’s government “for missing the benchmarks,” and plans to veto any bill that does so.
UPDATE: Video of the hearing has been added.
Full transcript:
SEC. RICE: Senator, the leverage is that we’re not going to stay married to a plan that’s not working in Baghdad if the Iraqis are not living up to their part of the obligation, because it won’t work. Unless they’re prepared to make the tough political decisions — and frankly, we know why the sectarian violence didn’t come down that’s — all had hoped would. It didn’t come down because there weren’t enough forces when these areas were cleared to actually hold them, because there were not enough reliable Iraqi forces, and we know that there was too much political interference in what was going on.
That’s been changed in this plan, both by the augmentation of the forces with our own forces and by bringing forces in from other parts of Iraq.
So we’re not going to stay married to a plan that isn’t working because the Iraqis aren’t living up to their end of the bargain.
SEN. OBAMA: Madame Secretary, because I think the chairman appropriately is trying to keep our time restricted, I want to just follow up on this and be very clear. Are you telling me that if in six months or whatever time frame you are suggesting that in fact the Maliki government has not performed these benchmarks — which, by the way, remain not sufficiently explicit, I think, for a lot of us to make decisions on, but let’s assume that that surfaces over the next several weeks that this is being debated — that at that point, you are going to suggest to the Maliki government that we are going to start phasing down our troop levels in Iraq?
SEC. RICE: Senator, I want to be not explicit about what we might do because I don’t want to speculate. But I will tell you this, the benchmark that I’m looking at — the oil law is important, the political process is extraordinary important — that the most important thing that the Iraqi government has to do right now is to reestablish the confidence of its population that it’s going to be even-handed in defending it. That’s what we need to see over the next two or three months, and I think that over the next several months they’re going to have to show that.
SEN. OBAMA: Or else what? Mr. Chairman –
SEC. RICE: Or this plan — or this plan is not — this plan is not going to work.
SEN. OBAMA: The question is not whether the plan is going to work or not. The question is: What are the consequences if the Iraqi government — I’m out of time, but I have to ask this question.
Are there any circumstances that the president or you are willing to share in which we would say to the Iraqis we are no longer maintaining combat troops, American combat troops in Iraq? Are there any circumstances that you can articulate in which we would say to the Maliki government that enough is enough, and we are no longer committing our troops?
SEC. RICE: I’m not going to speculate, but I do tell you that the president made very clear that of course there are circumstances. That’s what it means when he says our patience is not limited.
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64 Responses to “Time Is Up On Rice’s ‘Two To Three Month’ Window For Escalation”
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Lemmie guess–Rice is going to ask for another 2-3 months for the “surge” to work, right?
And when late July approaches, she’ll demand another 2-3 months to let the “surge” work, right?
And come Halloween, she’ll insist on another 2-3 months…..
April 30th, 2007 at 5:33 pmCaption:
April 30th, 2007 at 5:34 pm“Oh, Randall, you big bad boy………..”
Everything this administration says is manure. Except it is so lethal it kills everything (humans, respect, integrity etc.)
April 30th, 2007 at 5:37 pmEverything this administration says is manure. Except it is so lethal it kills everything (humans, respect, integrity etc.)
Comment by Rebel in CA — April 30, 2007 @ 5:37 pm
Too much nitrogen from straight bullshit mixed with just a tiny amount of filler?
April 30th, 2007 at 5:39 pmThree month window is up but the Iraqis are taking a two month vacation. How convenient, unless you’re a US soldier.
April 30th, 2007 at 5:41 pmMadam “mushroom cloud” continue to blow smoke!
April 30th, 2007 at 5:42 pmTime was up before it even started - in fact, time was up on the use of force to solve foreign policy problems decades ago.
We need a new direction - something that the Rice’s and Bush’s and Clintons and the rest don’t seem willing to give us…
We need politicians that will stick to the Constitution and Bill of Rights. If they did that, there wouldn’t be hundreds of foreign military bases, billions given to prop up nasty dictators, CIA assasinations, the overthrow of governments and on and on and on…
The Constitution - written in plain English - but the politicians refuse to follow it.
Some good reading, “A Foreign Policy for America”
April 30th, 2007 at 5:43 pmhttp://www.populistamerica.com/a_foreign_policy_for_america
The times never up when your goal is endless war.
April 30th, 2007 at 5:43 pmIf I was more like Don Imus, I’d have something powerfully “incorrect” to say about Ms Rice right now.
April 30th, 2007 at 5:47 pmIt’s just like dealing with little kids. They’ll promise anything, ANYTHING, to get what they want and maybe even believe at the time they’re making the promise that they mean it. But, just like little kids, they never want to live with the consequences of their actions or the promises they made when they really really really wanted it.
And they can’t quit now, anyway, because then they’ll have to listen to the neocon chickenhawks call them pussy.
Just like the damn schoolyard at recess. Sort of an Ann Coulter moment. “It’s just a schoolyard taunt!”
April 30th, 2007 at 5:47 pmThe Iraqi Parliament is taking two months off.
This means the surge has failed. The Iraqis are NOT going to fix their problems…they’re going on vacation instead.
April 30th, 2007 at 5:48 pmRice’s Augmentation:
“I think that I don’t see it, and the president doesn’t see it, as an escalation…I would call it, senator, an augmentation.”
April 30th, 2007 at 5:48 pm- Condi Rice, January 11, 2007.
Caption:
Do I have “anything” stuck in my teeth?
April 30th, 2007 at 5:48 pmThe time is never up when its your war and you want to stick the next guy with responsibility for its failure. Another 2-3 months will be the defining words of the last 18 months of this administration unless the Democrats get off their collective butts and say no.
Go to the President and negotiate a withdrawl plan that does not establish public timelines, just secret ones that will become public if not adhered to. Do not under any circumstances pass a Republican bill!
April 30th, 2007 at 5:51 pmTurns out that the burning bush speaking to Georgie about invading Iraq was just his hair on fire after he felt asleep while playing with matches again.
April 30th, 2007 at 5:51 pm“SEC. RICE: I will tell you this, the benchmark that I’m looking at — the oil law is important”
The oil law is not “important”, it is required. That is why we are there and that is when we will leave. It’s really too bad that most of the American public doesn’t know that the “oil law” is a law written to allow US and British oil companies to steal 70% of Iraq’s oil profits for 30 years. Now, one would ask why Iraq would be crazy enough to do something like that. The answer is because they need an infusion of cash to fix the system we blew to hell and back again. Pretty clever, we blow up their oil system and then US and British oil companies tell them that they will foot the bill to fix things for 70% of their oil profits for 30 years.
These people have no conscience. They are thieves, plain and simple.
April 30th, 2007 at 5:51 pmThis has been a common republican tactic all along. When the surge first started Hannity was saying that the dems should stay quiet until august to give the plan time to work. All of the right-wing was saying that it was a short-term, temporary surge, not an escalation. Now Bush is saying that the surge will continue into ‘08. Looks like Rice reads from the same playbook.
April 30th, 2007 at 5:52 pmdis·sem·ble /dɪˈsɛmbəl/ Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronunciation[di-sem-buhl] Pronunciation Key - Show IPA Pronunciation verb, -bled, -bling.
April 30th, 2007 at 5:52 pm–verb (used with object) 1. to give a false or misleading appearance to; conceal the truth or real nature of: to dissemble one’s incompetence in business.
2. to put on the appearance of; feign: to dissemble innocence.
3. Obsolete. to let pass unnoticed; ignore.
–verb (used without object) 4. to conceal one’s true motives, thoughts, etc., by some pretense; speak or act hypocritically.
SEC. RICE: I will tell you this, the benchmark that I’m looking at — the oil law is important, the . . .
first in mind… imagine that…
SEN. OBAMA: Or else what? Mr. Chairman –
SEC. RICE: Or this plan — or this plan is not —…
obama referred to her as MR. ??? or who? typo?
April 30th, 2007 at 5:54 pmCaption:
April 30th, 2007 at 5:55 pmCondi ..ready for your money shot?
Project management 101 says a ‘Benchmark’ is a fixed point to measure progress to a well defined ‘goal’. Between the ‘benchmark’ and the ‘goal’ achievable and measurable ‘milestones’ are set based on time and accomplishment. Not new ‘benchmarks’.
April 30th, 2007 at 5:58 pmProgs - a lightbulb just went off!! The problem with contemporary Progs is their unmitigated impatience and inability to make allowance for strategy shifts. Your angst is NOW understandable - as were your childish temper tantrums Mom gave in to.
April 30th, 2007 at 6:02 pmWas there anyone who was stupid enough to believe her the first time? Really? It’s like believing bush is a christian.
April 30th, 2007 at 6:02 pmCaption:
“Promise you won’t tell George?”
April 30th, 2007 at 6:05 pmNotice how Condi’s head bobs up and down when she is lying. I noticed it twice this weekend on the Sunday morning news shows.
April 30th, 2007 at 6:12 pmUnmitigated Impatience. !? Over 100 soldiers Died in Iraq this month. Until I get a lucid rationale for this….your damned right my Impatience is Unmitigated.
April 30th, 2007 at 6:12 pmProgs - a lightbulb just went off!! The problem with contemporary Progs is their unmitigated impatience and inability to make allowance for strategy shifts. Your angst is NOW understandable - as were your childish temper tantrums Mom gave in to.
Comment by valiant venus
Wrong, you must think timelessly, not locally.
April 30th, 2007 at 6:13 pmWas there anyone who was stupid enough to believe her the first time?
Only about 75% of the American people in 2003
April 30th, 2007 at 6:16 pmcondescension might play well somewhere you weren’t universally loathed and discredited VV, but here it just lends to the notion you’re not very bright at all.
April 30th, 2007 at 6:20 pmTom - Thanks Mr. Euro - you’re always such a fount of info.
April 30th, 2007 at 6:23 pmDid Condi get her teeth done? They seem a bit less pronounced - maybe she’s in the midst of Invisalign.
April 30th, 2007 at 6:25 pmDemocratic and Republican members of Congress already are focusing on September as their next major decision point on the war — planning hearings to debate Petraeus’ findings and, in the Democrats’ case, promising new attempts to force Bush to withdraw troops.
By September, the troop buildup will have been underway for more than six months. Unless there is dramatic improvement in Iraq, public support for the war will probably have eroded further. And by September, skittish Republicans will be four months closer to starting their reelection campaigns.
Several moderate Republicans have warned that they are preparing to switch sides unless the troop “surge” shows results.
April 30th, 2007 at 6:27 pmTom3
The Iraqi Parliament is taking two months off.
where did you get the info ?????
April 30th, 2007 at 6:28 pmhe problem with contemporary Progs is their unmitigated impatience and inability to make allowance for strategy shifts -V V
Wrong the inner circle, as you see yourself perhaps, are quite the behind the echo, which has been stolen =)
April 30th, 2007 at 6:29 pmThus, the inner circle, has been torn away from you V V….
April 30th, 2007 at 6:31 pmtheir unmitigated impatience and inability to make allowance for strategy shifts
Comment by valiant venus —
I am impatient with an occupation that has gone on for 4 years, and still no one can tell us what the mission is or who the enemy is. I spent over a year in Baghdad myself. Our Lt Col and his CSM kept getting frustrated because they never could get a clear answer as to what our mission is, and the enemy kept changing so that we were fighting a group one month, then working with them the next. Yes, my patience has run out.
April 30th, 2007 at 6:32 pmYeah, this stupid argument might hold water IF there was a strategy change. But, I would hardly consider a 7th escalation a change. It is just more of the same, but then so is this post from you.
April 30th, 2007 at 6:32 pmCondi’s burning bush talks to George.
April 30th, 2007 at 6:33 pmThe only “strategy” Bushco has is for a permanent military base of operations in the Mideast to ensure the flow of oil is controlled by the U.S. oil oligarchy. Period. Bushco’s “war on terror” has never had a coherent strategy, valiant! The big “left turn” from Afganistan to Iraq, when we had Osama in our sights, will go down in history as the most criminal, costly, reckless and, ultimately, disastrous decision made by a U.S. president ever. You don’t fight al Queda by letting its leaders off-the-hook at the decisive moment and running-off on a fool’s errand. It’s all about the oil. Check out this article in today’s S.F. Chron: http://www.sfgate.com/ cgi-bin/ article.cgi?file=/ chronicle/ archive/ 2007/ 04/ 30/ EDG3JPH50O1.DTL
April 30th, 2007 at 6:34 pmOIL LAW SO FAR
But there is opposition to the law from a wide swath of Iraqi
interests. Many fear it will hand over to foreigners too much control
over Iraq’s most prized natural resource. A group of Iraqi oil experts
wrote an open letter to the Iraqi parliament complaining that the
law’s emphasis on quickly attracting foreign investment could lead the
government, now weak from the ongoing war, to seal long-term deals
with foreign companies that are not in the long-term interest of the
country. Production contracts, for example, could remain in effect for
decades. If a future government tried to change the law or terms of
signed contracts, it could land in costly international arbitration,
where conflicts over such contracts are usually decided.
The resurgent Iraqi trade unions have also come out against the law.
The Iraqi Federation of Oil Unions, representing about 26,000 workers
in the industry, could pose a serious obstacle by threatening to shut
down oil production, something the federation has done three times
since it formed in 2003.
Critics also resent the secrecy surrounding the process. Not only
were negotiations behind closed doors, but the proposed law wasn’t
publicly available until recently, although the British and American
governments, and many oil companies, were given early drafts, says
Greg Muttitt, codirector of Platform, a London-based oil industry
watchdog: “Iraqi civil society has been excluded from the process.
Even Iraqi MPs are seeing the law for the first time now.”
ITS NOT GOING TO WORK
April 30th, 2007 at 6:39 pmMaliki is aligned to the Iranians and stalling keeping America bogged down
So
1 Condi Unit = 1/2 Friedman Unit ?
Is that how it goes? Did I get the exchange rate right?
April 30th, 2007 at 6:40 pmTurns out that the burning bush speaking to Georgie about invading Iraq was just his hair on fire after he felt asleep while playing with matches again.
Comment by unbelievable
Laughing my ass off…. :D
April 30th, 2007 at 6:42 pmBASES IN IRAQ NO GOOD AT ALL
Building an expensive embassy and military bases do not necessarily ensure U.S victory in Iraq. In 1991, the US had lot of military bases and the most expensive embassy in Africa in Mogadishu. After the 1991 collapse of Barre’s regime, the US left the country quickly and the Embassy was completely destroyed; currently, it lies in ruins with the rest of Somalia as the Bush administration wrecks new round of death and destruction in Somalia. The juxtaposition of US projection of Military might in the form of building lavish embassy and military bases and its weakness on the grounds in Iraq marked by the U.S plan to build a wall at the heart of Baghdad indicates that the U.S has lost the plot in Iraq long time ago
April 30th, 2007 at 6:43 pmBUt this administration is already falling back on the dispersed deployment schedules of the “surge” as a do-over. Since the full (i..e highest) level of deployment will not take place until this coming month (May) they are already positioning themselves rhetorically that the clock should be reset and begin in May (read end of May) which means their three months would not be until the end of August, Add in a month for “reviewing and assessment” … the month or so of arguing and haggling over whether or not the non-specific benchmarks are being met, etc. and suddenly we are September or October before the administration will cut the Congressional and Senatorial GOP loose to openly run from “the surge” and the Iraq occupation in time to try and salvage their 08 re-election bid (not to mention the Presidential campaigns).
April 30th, 2007 at 6:44 pmthis stupid argument might hold water IF there was a strategy change.
Comment by Spudge_Boy — April 30, 2007 @ 6:32 pm
Spudge, let me quickly improve your post:
This stupid argument might hold water IF there was a strategy.
And as for Varmint Genus’ so-called strategy shifts -I seem to recall the Dear (mis)Leader insisting, over and over, that victory could only be reached by “staying the course”.
So, her rubbish about “strategy shifts” is just that, rubbish. Not hat I am surprised or anything…
April 30th, 2007 at 6:44 pmCAPTION CONTEST: “If I’m very good, do I get a lollipop afterwards?”
April 30th, 2007 at 6:45 pmCaption:
Does this vibrator have an off switch?????
April 30th, 2007 at 6:49 pmCAPTION CONTEST: “No George, not in my eye!”
Sorry, couldn’t resist.
April 30th, 2007 at 6:49 pmgeorge bush is stalling until he leaves office - thats all
April 30th, 2007 at 6:51 pm#24 notice the direction it bobs. It is a poker tell. She shakes here head “no” when she is peddling some BS that she wants you to believe, and bobs here head up and down when she is telling you something she wants you to reject or not believe. It is a subconscious poker tell that many people have. Now go back and watch her on that Face the Nation clip.
April 30th, 2007 at 6:54 pm#22 Project much?
April 30th, 2007 at 6:56 pmIsn’t this the same administration who put a benchmark on the Iraqis holding elections and ratifying a constitution?
April 30th, 2007 at 7:01 pmgeorge bush is stalling until he leaves office - thats all
That’s it! That’s it! That’s it!
That is the one and only policy motivation for this administration. It explains everything.
Just keep dancing and get out of office before anyone can find something that sticks.
Our glorious Jesus-appointed leaders….Turds, only slightly less odoriferous that the pinheads who voted for them.
April 30th, 2007 at 7:08 pmAnd still they want another friedman.
Yes Gregor (41), that does seem to be the conversion
April 30th, 2007 at 8:56 pm#22 Comment by valiant venus — April 30, 2007 @ 6:02 pm
“Progs - a lightbulb just went off!!”
Hi there Venus Sweetie,
Thanks so much for telling us that you are now in the dark! Of course you are blind anyway so it really doesn’t matter now does it? But then you have such an active imagination what with fantasizing about all those boogie men under your bed. So how did you know the bulb went out? Did you hear it go out? Well, no matter, I suppose. Maybe you could call Georgie and he could say “let there be light” and all your “light” problems would be solved.
Dum Dee Dum… Blappity…Being in the boxing gym is fun!
April 30th, 2007 at 10:06 pmSo, what’s next CondoSleeza? Your boss refuses to hold Maliki accountable…
Guess who is paying the price, Miss Ferragamo Shoes: the unfortunate US soldiers who are dying like flies, the Iraqi civilians, and the US taxpayer!
April 30th, 2007 at 10:26 pmYes, 49, 22 as usual…
April 30th, 2007 at 10:40 pmThis is beginning to sound like the opener for “The Prisoner”…
#54 Comment by Devil’s Advocate — April 30, 2007 @ 10:26 pm
“So, what’s next CondoSleeza? Your boss refuses to hold Maliki accountable…”
Miss Sleeza replies, “Don’t you go talking about my hus…president like that.”
April 30th, 2007 at 11:19 pmIraqi Parliament is taking a page out of Chimpy’s book. When the going gets tough, go on vacation.
May 1st, 2007 at 1:10 amYou know what that smile in the picture tells me?
That Condi’s desperately saying, in her mind…
“please don’t ask me if I’m sleeping with the President…”
May 1st, 2007 at 1:15 am“please don’t ask me if I’m sleeping with the President…”
“please don’t ask me if I’m sleeping with the President…”
“please don’t ask me if I’m sleeping with the President…”
CondoSleeza? High five, #54, that’s what I call her too.
May 1st, 2007 at 1:17 amKurds To Oppose Draft Oil Law
In a surprise move, Kurdish lawmakers have announced that they plan to oppose Iraq’s controversial US-backed oil law.
Back in February, the Kurds had agreed to support the draft law, which has been heavily criticised as giving too much control to foreign oil companies.
Oil Minister Hussain al-Shahristani had predicted the draft law would be approved by parliament in April, but it has yet to be debated.
Kurds hold 58 of the 275 parliament seats _ not enough to defeat the measure on their own. But Kurdish objections could delay passage of the bill, whose ratification has been strongly urged by the White House.
But Kurdish spokesman Khalid Saleh has said: “We are not going to support†the provisions in the bill. Some Sunni legislators have also raised now objections, saying the oil law would give foreign oil companies too much power.
So the draft oil law could be in for a tough time before it becomes law. They will be sweating in Houston.
http://www.priceofoil.org/
YEEEEEEEEEE HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA……………………
May 1st, 2007 at 7:22 am– According to a recent poll, Maliki inspires confidence in 72 percent of Shiites, but just eight percent of Sunnis.
There was a time when TP devoted a lot of effort to calling out people who denied there was a civil war going on.
May 1st, 2007 at 8:39 amWTF was the point of that if coming to terms with that reality wasn’t the purpose ?
A divided country with mass violence and political corruption based on religious ideology. Sounds like Bush has actually succeeded in making Iraq a Democracy like America.
Mission Accomplished!
May 1st, 2007 at 1:58 pmhttp://www.goNODL.com