Talabani Says Iraqi Troops Will Be Ready ‘Next Year,’ After Making Same Promise Two Years Ago
Talabani Says Iraqi Troops Will Be Ready ‘Next Year,’ After Making Same Promise Two Years Ago
Since 2005, President Bush has argued that the U.S. strategy in Iraq is: “As the Iraqis stand up, we will stand down.” This morning on ABC’s This Week, Iraqi President Jalal Talabani promised that Iraqi troops will be able to defend their country by the “end of the next year.” Watch it:
But as TalkLeft points out, Talabani’s timeline is unlikely. On April 11, 2005, Talabani also promised that Iraqi forces would be able to defend their country “within two years“:
The newly elected president of Iraq said Sunday he expects that U.S. troops will be gone from his country within two years. Jalal Talabani told CNN two years should be enough time for Iraqi forces to rebuild and secure control of the country as well as take over the job currently being performed by some 140,000 U.S. troops.
Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki also promised in Nov. 2006 that his “country’s forces would be able to assume security command by June 2007 — which could allow the United States to start withdrawing its troops.”
The United States should not remain mired in Iraq until all Iraqi security forces are trained. Military leaders originally “planned to train 325,000 Iraqi security forces.” But this effort has been hampered by militia members infiltrating the forces and “using their power to carry out sectarian attacks.” The Washington Post’s David Ignatius recently reported that nevertheless, the White House’s post-surge strategy will likely “focus on training and advising Iraqi troops rather than the broader goal of achieving a political reconciliation in Iraq.”
Transcript:
TALABANI: I agree to put constructive pressure on Iraqi government, but I think we must be realistic. Unless we will be able to prepare our forces, armed forces, including army and police forces, to replace coalition forces, something as unpractical and…
STEPHANOPOULOS: But how long is that going to take? The training’s been going on for so long.
TALABANI: Well, you know, to building an army after the collapse of the regime is not so easy.
STEPHANOPOULOS: When will the Iraqi army be ready to defend Iraq?
TALABANI: I think in the end of the next year.
STEPHANOPOULOS: End of 2008.
TALABANI: Yes.
STEPHANOPOULOS: So U.S. forces will have to stay at high levels at least until then.
TALABANI: I cannot say. I’m not the president of the United States to decide how American forces — when they must leave. But I think, as you asked of me, the end of 2000 sic, we will be able to have an army.
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Same old same old. What else is new?
June 3rd, 2007 at 10:47 amRandom thoughts:
June 3rd, 2007 at 10:47 amWhy buy milk when the cow’s free?
Let’s string this out forever so we can profit greatly, keep our friends on on the safe payroll, kill as many invading, bastard Americans and others as possible, etc etc etc
i sorta feel sorry for the old guy. he’s scared and confused and the country keeping him in power has madmen at the helm.
June 3rd, 2007 at 10:49 amThe Boy King and his handlers must be thrilled to know how thoroughly they have destroyed Iraq and it’s people.
June 3rd, 2007 at 10:52 ami can’t feel too sorry for him though…he threw in with the bushco. he looks like it just hit him that this isn’t going to end well.
June 3rd, 2007 at 10:55 amFirst we had the:
Friedman Unit = 6 months,then the
June 3rd, 2007 at 10:57 amWarner Unit = 3 months,and the
McCain Unit = Who knows how long;now we have the
Talibani Unit = 2 years.
is it hanging time yet? i think so. LIARS LIARS AND MORE LIARS should all hang by their necks till they are DEAD.
June 3rd, 2007 at 11:00 amHow can we trust this clown–he as the word TALIBAN right it the middle of his name!
Another Bush lackey. He’s like L. Paul Bremer with an Iraqi accent and an enormous gut.
-GSD
June 3rd, 2007 at 11:21 amIf one were to draw a caricature of a foreign politician, it would look remarkably like Talabani. He is full of contradictions and false assumptions….buying time for himself in the spotlight. He is also a card-carrying member of the Tom Friedman club.
June 3rd, 2007 at 11:36 amHow humiliating to be WORSE than Saddam…
June 3rd, 2007 at 12:07 pmBush’s coalition of the willing used car salesmen.
June 3rd, 2007 at 12:09 pm‘Hello there my friend and I feel we are already friends. I see you looking at this country here. All you need to tell me is what’s it gonna take to get you into this country today. ‘
HOORAY!
Oh, wait…I thought he said, “The troops will be ready after two more beers.”
June 3rd, 2007 at 12:12 pmReading the headline of this thread, brings to mind a Dionne Warwick tune titled Promises, Promises.
June 3rd, 2007 at 12:35 pmIgnore the liar Talabani and besides the Turks are going to kill him anyways.
June 3rd, 2007 at 12:39 pmWasn’t there a movie a while back called Say Anything? That’s the GOP philosophy and Talabani has absorbed it well from his overlords.
June 3rd, 2007 at 12:43 pmNo, the moving goal post is not acceptable. American troops in this mess through 2008, then 2009, well maybe a bit longer This is no way to run American foreign policy. The political figures put their finger to the wind again and again. Murtha is right. Move our troops to the borders and let Iraq assume responsibility for it’s own destiny.
June 3rd, 2007 at 12:48 pmthis is such a (political ?) theater that can be enjoyed !! But very sad part is while these nuts are doing their performance people are loosing their lives, especially innocent civilians. sigh :(
June 3rd, 2007 at 12:52 pmPress is reporting that Turkey is massing troops on the northern border of Iraq. They are waiting for an order to invade and slaughter the Kurds. If they nab Talabani, then they will hang him. Thank Bush for this calamity.
June 3rd, 2007 at 1:08 pmwhat’s worse is that bush himself said in October 2004 that iraqi troops were going to be ready by the end of 2005:
“Now Jamie, both the president and Senator Kerry agree that part of the solution for getting out of Iraq is to turn over security to the Iraqis. The president said that is already well under way.
Let’s listen to the president.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BUSH: The best way for Iraq to be safe and secure is for Iraqi citizens to be trained to do the job. And that’s what we’re doing. We’ve got 100,000 trained now, 125,000 by the end of this year, over 200,000 by the end of next year.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ZAHN: Jamie, are those numbers right?
MCINTYRE: There’s a big dispute, Paula, about whether the Pentagon is overstating the number of Iraqis that are truly combat ready.
But the general who’s in charge of the training, very respected general, General Petraeus, insists that 100,000 is the right number out of 164,000 in Iraq.â€
american soldiers are still getting killed on a daily basis 2 1/2 years later.
June 3rd, 2007 at 1:22 pmRe-institute the draft, and this war will come to an end so fast it will make your head spin. The percentage of folks actually affected by the carnage of these conflicts is so miniscule compared to the general population, they aren’t even a bump in the polls. When EVERYONE’S son or husband or brother can be called up, regardless of economic status, then you will see a change in attitude.
June 3rd, 2007 at 1:33 pmTalabani Says Iraqi Troops Will Be Ready
to steal Iraqs Oil and give it to America
June 3rd, 2007 at 2:02 pmIs Talibani where some of the missing $8 billion went?
June 3rd, 2007 at 2:03 pmWell, I tell you it hard to make army! Me takes time to make army goot sin I ave tuff workings for people to do. Dank joo due Amirrorka for joor tupport. Well I tll joo dat we tink dat in anoder jeer or two we will be ready to kill de evil terwrists. Iwreck is getting better every day. Amirrorka is soon be able to stand down. Iwrek jess learned how to make leather from Iranium butox from smart Amiericans. Iwrek tank Georg Bush and Iwrek get better fast quik bla bla bla
June 3rd, 2007 at 2:12 pmTank joo
SSDD~Heard this one before. I sure hope the American people are not gullible enough to buy all this BS about September being a magic month, or any of this nonsense coming out of Talabani’s mouth.
June 3rd, 2007 at 2:56 pmHe’s absolutely right.
June 3rd, 2007 at 3:08 pmNext year they will be ready next year.
The year after that, they’ll be ready next year.
What’s the problem here?
He’s absolutely right.
Next year they will be ready next year.
The year after that, they’ll be ready next year.
What’s the problem here?
Comment by RUCerious
These yahoos are nothing, if not consistent.
June 3rd, 2007 at 3:14 pm“when they must leave”? They aren’t going to leave. That’s what “permanent bases” means, Mr. Talibani. Forever.
June 3rd, 2007 at 3:15 pmU.S. announces 14 troop deaths in Iraq
BAGHDAD – Fourteen American soldiers were killed in three deadly days in Iraq, the U.S. military said Sunday, including four in a single roadside bombing and one who was struck by a suicide bomber while on a foot patrol southwest of the capital.
http://news.yahoo.com/ 15 minutes ago ………..
June 3rd, 2007 at 3:44 pm3494
June 3rd, 2007 at 3:44 pmUS told to toe line on climate
Britain and Germany yesterday joined forces to warn President George Bush that talks on climate change must take place within a United Nations framework and not in an ad hoc process floated last week by Bush.
As violent protesters clashed with police in Rostock ahead of next week’s G8 summit in Germany, Washington was warned that Britain and Europe will not tolerate a separate process.
Their comments came as 146 police officers were injured when up to 2,000 protesters threw bottles, sticks and stones at riot police in the Baltic port of Rostock, near Heiligendamm, the location of this week’s G8 summit. The rioting erupted after a much larger demonstration, attended by 25,000 people, passed off peacefully. Bush was the subject of the usual taunts.
http://observer.guardian.co.uk/politics/story/0,,2094361,00.html
June 3rd, 2007 at 3:50 pmWhy didn’t Snufalupagous remind Talabani that he said that two years ago? What is with these slackers?? It should be easy enough to do a bit of research before he interviews the guy. Sheesh.
June 3rd, 2007 at 5:13 pm“If one were to draw a caricature of a foreign politician, it would look remarkably like Talabani. He is full of contradictions and false assumptions….buying time for himself in the spotlight. He is also a card-carrying member of the Tom Friedman club.” –Marie
Don’t be too hard on Talabani, given the circumstances. As one of the top Kurds, has paid a lot of dues.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jalal_Talabani
This is someone who SHOULD be our ally, but who is stuck dealing with Bushco and a regime of illegal mercenaries with guns pointed in his face, presiding over a country where hundreds of thousands of tons of munitions have been spread around by a total failure to guard any of it: a literal powderkeg.
His primary interest is in the survival of the Kurds. If we could restore our own democracy, we could help him and others stabilize what’s left of Iraq. He is not evil — he is a politician and freedom fighter walking the razor blade of Bushco deceit.
June 3rd, 2007 at 5:28 pm“How can we trust this clown–he as the word TALIBAN right it the middle of his name!”
The name ‘Taliban’ means ’student. The Talabani family (spelled Talebani in Kurdish) is one of the oldest in the ME.
“Another Bush lackey.”
No, not hardly.
“He’s like L. Paul Bremer with an Iraqi accent and an enormous gut.” –GSD
No, he’s nothing like Bremer. He’s actually a patriot.
June 3rd, 2007 at 5:32 pmTalabani. Handpicked Kurd. Kirkuk oil. Duh.
June 3rd, 2007 at 6:51 pm#12 Comment by Briseadh na Faire — June 3, 2007 @ 12:12 pm
HOORAY!
Oh, wait…I thought he said, “The troops will be ready after two more beers.â€
HaaaaHaaaaHaaaa. Beautiful!
June 3rd, 2007 at 7:58 pmBut…wait…And when the Iraqui troops are trained and ready to “sustain, defend and all that crap”, what will the American troops be doing??? Oh, could this explain why the training over the last three years has resulted in zilch….? I guess without an effective police force or Army, General Petraitor will just have to rely on our good old american GI’s Sounds like a plan that even Doug Feith would understand. Yes, just leave it to amerikun ingenuity…no problem. The eternal surge.
June 3rd, 2007 at 8:11 pmmy reaction to this story is no different than it is for ANY news story – i use my rules to make sure that what i get is vetted:
#1) don’t just believe everything you see on TV or read in the news. cultivate a healthy sense of skepticism, use what you are told as a starting point and then investigate the facts yourself.
#2) if you can’t find at least two other new outlets that corrorborate the news story, tear it up and walk away.
#3) cultivate a news “diet” which includes various news sources from both the liberal and conservative viewpoints and domestic and international viewpoints. no sense in getting ALL your news from america.
#4) remember: everything you read is biased in some way. everything.
david koff
editor, message to america
http://messagetoamerica.blogspot.com
June 4th, 2007 at 3:04 amI used to be a regular at the Hotel Empire in Hobart. One day the publican put a sign on the wall: Free beer tomorrow.
One old geezer came in, saw the sign, his eyes lit up. Next day, up he trots for his usual pint. Publican serves him, says, “Where’s your money?”
Geezer point to sign. Publican says, “What’s it say?”
“Free beer tomorrow!”
“Right! Doesn’t mean today, does it.”
Having worked in Saudi, 1969-70 and asking an Arab, “Will this job be finished tomorrow?” the usual answer is “Insh’allah” never “Aiwa!” and likely never …
June 4th, 2007 at 8:11 amOh @20, Stephanie
Since you believe in conscription, why did you leave out 52% of the population?
But then, if you believe a draft would affect EVERYONE (male) you obviously know nothing of the Selective Service Act of 1940 onward.
June 4th, 2007 at 8:16 am“#1) ”
OK, as far as it goes, but realise that your scepticism will be anticipated and “gut instinct” pandered to. This is how FNC got so far.
“#2) if you can’t find at least two other new outlets that corroborate the news story, tear it up and walk away.”
This is a mistaken approach.
1. News outlets filter stories (e.g. to avoid harassment), and some get no coverage, or are only covered, “controversially”, by one paper.
2. Outlets copy each other.
3. Fake stories are pushed to multiple outlets and sometime get published.
“#3)”
Again, OK, as far as it goes.
“#4) remember: everything you read is biased in some way. everything.”
June 4th, 2007 at 8:22 amNo it isn’t. Some people would like to bias everything. Others would like everything to be biased; this would justify their moral relativism, paranoia, etc. But there is plenty that is not biased by party politics (even if they are elevated to a cosmic scale).
39: if you think it’d have no effect, why oppose it?
June 4th, 2007 at 8:24 am