U.S. Iraq Ambassador Ryan Crocker: ‘I Don’t See An End Game In Sight’
U.S. Iraq Ambassador Ryan Crocker: ‘I Don’t See An End Game In Sight’
In recent days, the White House has begun a public campaign to rally the American public around “a lengthy U.S. troop presence in Iraq like the one in South Korea,” where U.S. troops have been stationed for 50 years.
President Bush offered the Iraq-South Korea comparison late last month, and Press Secretary Tony Snow confirmed soon afterwards that the administration envisioned a long-term occupation of Iraq. Defense Secretary Robert Gates endorsed the Korea model last week, and Lt. Gen. Raymond Odierno, who oversees daily operations in Iraq, called it a “great idea.”
Comparing the Iraq war to a “five-reel movie,” U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Ryan Crocker this morning announced his support for the concept of a long-term U.S. occupation. He told NPR that he doesn’t “see an end game in sight” in Iraq:
Sometimes I think that in the U.S. we’re looking at Iraq right now as though it were the last half of a three-reel movie. For Iraqis, it’s a five-reel movie and they’re still in the first half of it. I don’t see an end game, as it were, in sight.
CLICK HERE TO LISTENWhen asked his estimate for how long the U.S. will remain in Iraq, Crocker answered, “I could not give that estimate.” As the September deadline approaches for Congress’ reevaluation of Bush’s course in Iraq, it appears the administration is consolidating behind a “no end game” strategy.
Transcript:
NPR: Is there any indication that those fighting are tired of this war? Last week on this show, former Gen. Barry McCaffrey told us that the stakes are higher than ever before because every side is positioning itself for the end game. Is he right?
CROCKER: Sometimes I think that in the U.S. we’re looking at Iraq right now as though it were the last half of a three-reel movie. For Iraqis, it’s a five-reel movie and they’re still in the first half of it. I don’t see an end game, as it were, in sight.
NPR: What is your estimate at this moment in time on how long the U.S. will be in Iraq in force?
CROCKER: I could not give that estimate. And I think one of the things all Americans have to consider is if we were to scale back our engagement here in a major way before there has been a major change in circumstances on the ground, what are the consequences?
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81 Responses to “U.S. Iraq Ambassador Ryan Crocker: ‘I Don’t See An End Game In Sight’”
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Um, until there’s not a single drop of Iraqi oil remaining in the ground?
June 6th, 2007 at 12:11 pmThis is the old story of “The camel who just wants his nose in the tent.”
June 6th, 2007 at 12:13 pmCaption:
“Reely?”
June 6th, 2007 at 12:14 pmThese people never planned on leaving, they never had a plan for leaving and they have no intention of leaving unless they are dragged kicking and screaming. I can no longer believe this is just about “liberating” the Iraqi people and providing them security, it’s much darker than that.
June 6th, 2007 at 12:14 pmI think we need a contest for the best caption for that dumb ass photo, I still can’t stop laughing-Good one TP
June 6th, 2007 at 12:15 pmIs this guy as dumb as he looks?
June 6th, 2007 at 12:15 pmThree-reel movie? Iraq is more like the extended director’s cut of Heaven’s Gate.
June 6th, 2007 at 12:15 pmThey have a stragtegy alright, secure that oil contract for the next 30 years and keep war profiting as long as possible.
Hating the Repukian Mafia daily
June 6th, 2007 at 12:16 pmWhere is our representation? The American people spoke so loudly in November. And this is what our hard work and votes have gotten us. This is not what the country wants. But the President doesn’t care, and Congress wont stand up for us.
Thank you President Bush. You have sentenced our country to a generation of continued fostering of radicalism out of the Middle East. Your short sightedness and all out incompetence will be your legacy. Congrats.
June 6th, 2007 at 12:16 pmReminds me of Ghandi’s response to the question…
Q: What do you think of Western civilization?
Ghandi: I think it would be a good idea.
June 6th, 2007 at 12:16 pmthat FACE…! talk about looking like a deer in the headlights…!
And, yes, I DO take it personally
June 6th, 2007 at 12:17 pmThis simplifies the next election for the American people. Vote republican if you believe the US should stay in Iraq for the next 50 years. With public discontent over the warat the stage it is now, the dems could run Charles Manson and win.
June 6th, 2007 at 12:17 pmIt is all a “game” to Bush’s people. Unreal, US troops dying by the dozens and the Bush people think this is a “game”. US troops are dying Mr. Cracker, it is no game.
-GSD
June 6th, 2007 at 12:17 pmCaption contest:
ooooh! That feels good!
June 6th, 2007 at 12:17 pmMy elderly mother was a friend of Crocker when he was US Ambassador for Kuwait. She told me he is intelligent, but sells his soul for whomever pays him well, plus he gets to be the first ambassador to live in the new embassy palace compound in Baghdad. He will live in splender like royalty.
June 6th, 2007 at 12:18 pmCAPTION:
June 6th, 2007 at 12:19 pmHi, I’m Ambassador Crocker, and do I have a crock for you!
Caption Contest:
Corbomite? You’re bluffing Kirk.
June 6th, 2007 at 12:20 pmI really don’t believe there was ever never any intention of leaving Iraq. Leaving was never part of the plan. They have teased the American public along (thereby gaining some support) by hinting that there will be an end at some point. It has always been a lie.
I am halfway through the book “Imperial Life in the Emerald City - Inside Iraq’s Green Zone” by Rajiv Chandrasekaran.He is the Washington Post former Baghdad bureau chief. It’s a fascinating read and it is absolutely no wonder this entire fiasco has played out like it has. It is also pretty clear that there is a plan behind all this garbage. It also seems pretty clear that Cheney plays the biggest role and has the most influence in this ride off a cliff which is called Iraq.
June 6th, 2007 at 12:20 pmIs this guy as dumb as he looks?
Comment by SKdeA
Naah, this photo was taken just as Jeff Gannon “found his missing wristwatch”…
June 6th, 2007 at 12:22 pm#15 Comment by Jay Randal — June 6, 2007 @ 12:18 pm
…sells his soul for whomever pays him well.
Well, that fits my Caption Contest above!
ooooh! That feels good!
June 6th, 2007 at 12:22 pmWhat kind of babbling shitbag thinks this is a “game”?
June 6th, 2007 at 12:23 pmAnd why is the USA in South Korea? (I’d also ask what are they doing in Japan after 62 years, but I don’t expect an answer.) The Americans deliberately sabotaged South Korea’s Sunshine Policy which might have ended with the reunion of North & South. It is in the interest of American business to see nations such as North Korea, Iraq, Iran, Yugoslavia, etc collapse and dissolve into chaos. The last thing Wall St wants is former communist or totalitarian nations adopting a Swedish model of a mixed economy; Wall St wants the looting opportunities that come with Laissez-faire Capitalism.
June 6th, 2007 at 12:25 pm#18 Comment by JG — June 6, 2007 @ 12:20 pm
“It is also pretty clear that there is a plan behind all this garbage.”
Yes, Its called PLAN A. Also known as empire.
June 6th, 2007 at 12:25 pmStep after step has been taken to ensure failure in order that nothing prevent this thing from going forward. It has also ensured nothing will divert or stop this. I really believe Iraq is (was) just the beginning.
June 6th, 2007 at 12:25 pmThat moron looks like he just crapped his pants.
Typical Repuke…they’re all a pantload.
June 6th, 2007 at 12:26 pmthe end game will be Dec 13th when the UN mandate runs out and The Iraqi Goverment will NOT renew it
and from now till then there will be NO oil contracts signed
start withdrawing now
June 6th, 2007 at 12:26 pm#16
Should win the “caption contest” ;)
June 6th, 2007 at 12:26 pmAt the end of this interview Crocker is very pessimistic about what might happen if we were to leave. He was not challenged by the interviewer, nor asked why these predictions should be believed after so many poor ones by his bosses.
June 6th, 2007 at 12:26 pmCaption Contest:
What headlights?
June 6th, 2007 at 12:27 pmWhat kind of babbling shitbag thinks this is a “game�
Comment by Loonie
That is indeed the problem right there. To these monsters, all the carnage and bloodshed is indeed part and parcel of “the game” they’re playing.
Isn’t that what Europeans used to refer to it as - “The Grand Game”?
YO… people dyin’ here… NOT a game, NOT a game…
June 6th, 2007 at 12:27 pmLoonie, the word “game” has been used to discuss the political interference in the Middle East and Indian sub-continent for the past 150 years. It’s part of Imperial policy and the players of the “game” would be the G8.
June 6th, 2007 at 12:27 pm#11, didn’t mean to steal your thunder! Read yours after posting mine!
June 6th, 2007 at 12:28 pmHe looks like he couldn’t buy a clue.
Where is our representation?
Conducting show trials, that themselves accomplish nothing, other than to distract Americans from this.
June 6th, 2007 at 12:29 pm“What are the consequences?”
Well, thank f*ck we’re asking that question now.
June 6th, 2007 at 12:30 pmSo that’s what Scooby Doo looks like with a shaved face.
June 6th, 2007 at 12:30 pmCaption Contest:
June 6th, 2007 at 12:31 pm“Oops, guess that wasn’t a fart”
[…] it appears the administration is consolidating behind a “no end game†strategy.
imagine that…
finally, it’s out there… admitting what we’ve always known…
i still find no joy in having said that…
June 6th, 2007 at 12:32 pmTo the neocons and their enablers it is all a game:
“see an end game in sightâ€
and a movie that they are staring in:
“…we’re looking at Iraq right now as though it were the last half of a three-reel movie”
Reality simply does not exist. Killing, torture, lying, deception… what difference does it make? Its all part of the game and the movie made from it. It’s great to be a star!
June 6th, 2007 at 12:33 pmmore scripted bs…
are we having fun yet?
June 6th, 2007 at 12:33 pmThere never was an “exit strategy” : the profits are way too big for Military Industrial Complex, all the contractors ($600 M embassy).
June 6th, 2007 at 12:35 pmCaption Contest:
“What the f*** was that?”
Comment first attributed to the Mayor of Hiroshima, 1945. Source: Ripley’s Big Book of Famous Uses of the Word ‘F***’.
June 6th, 2007 at 12:35 pmI think TP posted an old Passport photo of Crocker. Those pics are always bad and make you look stupid. I have had 3 different passports over the years and every pic made me look odd. One made me look frumpy, another one I looked like a male escort-hooker, and the last one I look like a CIA agent.
June 6th, 2007 at 12:35 pmdavid#22,
Spot on!! It also has something with the famed ‘military industrial complex’. If we keep cases open all over the world, then we do things at once for the military contractors. We keep boots on the ground which our country must pay contractors for goods and service for, and we keep pissing people off that would rather us get lost. That way we can continue spark conflict around the world, which in turn keeps the military contractors getting fatter and fatter.
June 6th, 2007 at 12:36 pmYeah, not while there’s oil in the ground.
If they were to find that Iraqi oil reserves had been vastly overestimated and were running low, Washington would order a military withdrawal faster than you can say “bipartisan exit strategy.”
June 6th, 2007 at 12:38 pmComing to a street near you (a.k.a. A Phony War On Terror to strip us of our rights, dismantle the Constitution and Install Martial Law) :
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/060407J.shtml
June 6th, 2007 at 12:39 pmTP removed his pic I see > lol.
June 6th, 2007 at 12:42 pmWow, 43 comments without a troll. They must be getting a lecture over at the West Hollywood Gym for Men in the troll locker room with the little short lockers. How refreshing.
June 6th, 2007 at 12:42 pmCaption contest: “I’m not wearing pants, am I.”
June 6th, 2007 at 12:44 pmCaption : “I’m just another Crook from the Chimpy Administration!”
June 6th, 2007 at 12:45 pmWall St wants the looting opportunities that come with Laissez-faire Capitalism.
Comment by david
You…are…so…right. You just describes US foreign policy within a paragraph.
Thank Goodness for Intelligent People.
June 6th, 2007 at 12:45 pmdescribes = described. Sorry.
June 6th, 2007 at 12:45 pmThere is NO end game for British or Americans in Iraq ever - They will always be killed on site for the next 50-100 years minium
end of story -
Next invasion think of the consequences for such an action
June 6th, 2007 at 12:46 pmew. :
http://www.usatoday.com/ news/ world/ 2007-06-06-bush-g8_N.htm
June 6th, 2007 at 12:48 pmExclusive: Iraqi Lawmakers Pass Resolution That May Force End to Occupation
http://www.alternet.org/waroniraq/53230/
June 6th, 2007 at 12:49 pmTobey Tall,
Those responsible for the invasion are immune from consequences.
June 6th, 2007 at 12:51 pmReached today by phone in Baghdad, Nassar al Rubaie, the head of Al-Sadr bloc in Iraq’s Council of Representatives, said, “This new binding resolution will prevent the government from renewing the U.N. mandate without the parliament’s permission. They’ll need to come back to us by the end of the year, and we will definitely refuse to extend the U.N. mandate without conditions.” Rubaie added: “There will be no such a thing as a blank check for renewing the U.N. mandate anymore, any renewal will be attached to a timetable for a complete withdrawal.”
END GAME IN SIGHT
June 6th, 2007 at 12:51 pmExclusive: Iraqi Lawmakers Pass Resolution That May Force End to Occupation
http://www.alternet.org/waroniraq/53230/
Comment by Tobey Tall — June 6, 2007 @ 12:49 pm
Good luck with that.
June 6th, 2007 at 12:54 pmTexas democrats please read the article
Without the cover of the U.N. mandate, the continued presence of coalition troops in Iraq would become, in law as in fact, an armed occupation, at which point it would no longer be politically tenable to support it.
June 6th, 2007 at 12:55 pmThose responsible for the invasion are immune from consequences. maybe so , certainly NOT Blair anyway
and i would not say blowing up Bushes children and grandchildren and wiping the earth of his genes is not “immune from consequences”
June 6th, 2007 at 12:57 pmI think only considering Iraq is thinking too small.
Iran has greater oil reserves than Iraq, and though the argument against Iran is “terrorism” or being a “terrorist state”, I think someone wants to control their vast oil reserves and stop them from switching over to Euros.
Iraq moved their oil from Dollars to Euros right before we attacked them. Iran has started switching oil from Dollars to Euros and I think that plays a role into why we are going after them next. Venezuela (#7 largest oil reserves) is moving away from Dollars. I wonder if that is why we are escalating things with them as well. .
June 6th, 2007 at 1:08 pmBush “immune from consequencesâ€
Bush will be thinking he had a better life before being a president , going to bed everynight and he knows he is the most hated man ever to walk the planet to date, His children will suffer being sneered at all though life , already restaurants in New York are refusing them seats telling them there booked for the next two years , Children usually suffer due to their parents popularity and behaviour,
Most people think Bush is immune from consequences because he lives in a bubble , But time will tell
June 6th, 2007 at 1:09 pmThere no way in hell of America controlling Irans Oil - are you totally delusional
June 6th, 2007 at 1:11 pmYou mean the ‘end game’ where the emotion terror shows up on the deck of the USS Mission Accomplished to sign a surrender agreement won’t happen? Wow how could have seen that one coming.
June 6th, 2007 at 1:14 pm‘There is no end game in sight’…..!!!
We have to know what the game is first before we can see and look forward to end it.
The game still unknown to most people.
Of course if you listen to Giuliani he will tell you ‘we are safer because we are in Iraq…’although Iraq never was linked to any terrorism happened in New York on 9/11 or before,against USA.
The game kept changing from , chasing the Bin Ladins at start, to chasing Saddam WMDS,to bringing democracy to Iraq,to our startegic interests are at stake,to helping Israel, to secure oil, to toppling Iran…
and the game goes on…
and now Iraq becomes a Korean model..!!
How can you see or end such thing?…that’s why we are in the middle of this Arabian desert storm chasing a mirage,and looking for a way out,but it will not be easy.
Toppling Saddam was the easiest part of this mission,winning the peace is the hardest to get in the middle of this ‘quicksand’ called Iraq.
June 6th, 2007 at 1:16 pmFirst, Iraq has ~8 trillion dollars worth of proven oil reserves. Let’s say it’ll end up being one trillion for the occupation and then 15% of all extraction to the Iraqi government (that’s the oil bill, right?), and hey, that’s not a bad investment. I wish I could do as well.
Now, as for the Iraq government throwing us out with this U.N. mandate thing…hahaha! I’m sure Cheney is shaking in his boots (made out of Iraqi children, don’cha know). I’m sure that someday we’ll draw down our numbers a little since 150K just isn’t sustainable forever, but we’ll have 40-50K there for quite awhile, especially if the Iraq government starts to have any funny ideas about who controls Iraq’s resources.
June 6th, 2007 at 1:20 pmNo end game, this is what Bush meant when he told his Texan buddies he was setting the next president up so he/she wouldn’t be able to avoid Amerika’s “Destiny”.
June 6th, 2007 at 1:30 pmNo end game my ass. We’re playing Globo-Monopoly, except when passing Go, we pay another $200 billion.
June 6th, 2007 at 1:36 pmIf Bush were a dealer selling your kids drugs at school, it would be entirely appropriate to take his kneecaps out and leave him at the curb. So what would be an equally appropriate measure for this evil puke that is selling your kids a War of his Choice?
Saw III?
June 6th, 2007 at 1:54 pmIf Bush were a dealer selling your kids drugs at school, it would be entirely appropriate to take his kneecaps out and leave him at the curb. So what would be an equally appropriate measure for this evil puke that is selling your kids a War of his Choice?
Saw III?
Comment by nanlichi
Whilst I agree w/ your sentiment, this is the kind of talk that might get us a visit from the Men In Black…
June 6th, 2007 at 2:14 pmtheres no need to be worried about men in Black visiting your door
I say shoot Bushes children to see how he feels about the loss of his family but only when Hes away from that Big Red Button
I even say in 50 years from now we should never forget what he did and wipe his whole family from the genepool of the human race and do humanity a good deed
June 6th, 2007 at 3:10 pm…that guy’s either a friggin’ inbred…
…or he’s got someone’s pet hamster…
…up his bum’ole…
…or BOTH…
June 6th, 2007 at 3:12 pmthe republic of stupidity,
It was just a rhetorical question, an exercise in academics. I am not advocating that anyone really bust his kneecaps. And I didn’t say that someone should put a 100 grain broadhead through his lower intestines and have the poor shit stumble through the rest of his life carrying a colostomy bag.
I honestly wish for President Bush a long, long life. Suffering from the guilt of the deaths and dismemberment of the good men and women who suffered for his ego.
btw…. I really like your sense of humor. Jeff Gannon found his wristwatch…..That is classic!
June 6th, 2007 at 3:19 pmBesides the fact that not one more soldier should die for Bush’s disaster, people really do need to start thinking about the financial implications of a never-ending occupation of Iraq. We are already perilously close to financial ruin. Many more months/years of what we are doing will surely bankrupt this country and will leave us in a very unsecured position because China will basically own this country. So, RepubliCONS and neoCONS, do you really want China to own this country?
June 6th, 2007 at 3:26 pm3503 ———-
June 6th, 2007 at 3:52 pm26 Us Dead in the first 6 days of June averaging 4.33 per day -
June 6th, 2007 at 4:06 pmThese bastards have no shame.
June 6th, 2007 at 5:42 pmThere is no end game in sight….and Progs (as usual) act sooo surprised. Unfortunately, this war with radical Koranimals will go on for decades….they are much more patient than paper-tiger Progs…..
June 6th, 2007 at 10:38 pmActually, I think the guy’s comment is pretty observant.
From the American side, we have this sense that “once
the Dems take Congress” or “once the Dems take the White House”
the whole mess/movie will be over - which presuming the Dems
then walk us out of Iraq would make for the Iraqi half-time/
2nd or 3rd reel.
Of course it might end relatively benignly after that, or it might not.
No one’s preparing for a departure just as they didn’t prepare for
an invasion. It will just happen, and then the Iraqis will get to
figure out the rest of the movie. Two thumbs up, say Siskel & Ebert,
and you can only imagine who’s put their thumb up where.
I just see a slasher movie where you get this moment of rest
June 7th, 2007 at 3:38 amwhere the slasher must surely be dead, and then the house starts
collapsing or the cliff starts giving way into the sea while the
slasher mends his wounds and comes back to life. The Iraqis and
the Americans really are watching two different movies.
Perhaps as Spike Lee’s finished Katrina I & II he can go make
a 2-part series on Iraq.
caption :
“F**K ME!!!!….that’s where i’ll be living????”
June 7th, 2007 at 4:52 amHe forgot to add, we in the administration never considered the consequences before we invaded and we’ve been wrong about everything since, but trust us, now we know what’s best….
June 7th, 2007 at 4:57 pmA couple of comments:
1) I don’t think it reflects well on us progressives to make fun of the way someone looks. I know it’s tempting, but you can find a goofy looking photo for any person of note. Think Progress chose to use that photo, which I think was a bit lame.
2) The use of the term “end game” is very common as a metaphor in all sorts of strategic discussions. It’s true that it seems like to a lot of the Bush administration, war is a game, since most of them have never actually served in the military. But that does not mean that anyone who uses the term considers the situation a game. For better or for worse, all sorts of metaphors are used all the time by everyone for rather dire situations. I don’t think we should be so focused on whether someone uses a common metaphor. I though Crocker’s film metaphor was much more interesting. My quick research leads me to think a 3-reel film is a relatively short movie (like an maybe hour), whereas a 5-reel film is feature length film. Maybe any film buffs out there can correct me. I think it’s an apt metaphor - America looking for short term results, Iraqis looking at the long term occupation.
3) I can’t find any info that suggest that this guy is a neocon or Bushie. I looked up and read a couple of interviews with him and I did not get the feeling he was. He is a long-term Foreign Service guy who has served under many administrations. At minimum, he seems to have spent a huge part of his career in the Middle East. You would think that that would disqualify him in the eyes of the Bushies! The sad thing is that the Bush adminstration is so corrupt, that we almost have to assume that anyone they appoint is “one of them”. Does anyone have any info that this guy is actually a Bushie?
June 7th, 2007 at 5:48 pm