Posted by
theoilpatchplug on Friday, December 08, 2006 9:35:30 AM
European leaders, who have been sharply critical of the Bush administration's occupation of Iraq, welcomed the U.S. advisory group's report on Iraq as a "necessary course correction" and a first step in a more realistic American view of the conflict.
The report's proposal to engage Iran and Syria found approval _ although talk of beginning a U.S. withdrawal made some officials wary that Washington may press European governments for help they are reluctant to give.
Iraq Study Group Co-Chairmen, former Secretary of State James A. Baker III, left, and former Indiana Rep. Lee Hamilton discuss their Group's report while testifying before the Senate Armed Services Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington Thursday, Dec. 7, 2006. (AP Photo/Dennis Cook)
French Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin told the new French international news channel France 24 late Wednesday: "I think that it is a first step for the Americans to at last see this war in Iraq for what it is."
Karsten Voigt, the German government's coordinator on relations with the U.S., said on n-tv television that: "We should be happy that there is a course correction in the United States."
"If we as Europeans and as Germans can help diplomatically, then we should," he said. "We are also ready to help with reconstruction in Iraq, if the security situation permits."
German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said he planned to press Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice about which of the commission's recommendations the Bush administration planned to implement.
Steinmeier, who meets Rice on Friday in Washington, said he welcomed "the possibility to be able to discuss these details."
Voigt was clear that Germany would not send troops. Andreas Schockenhoff, a deputy leader of Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservatives in parliament, warned the U.S. against thinking there are "obligations for other NATO partners" from a withdrawal.
The group led by former Secretary of State James A. Baker III, a Republican, and former Rep. Lee Hamilton, D-Ind., recommended on Wednesday that U.S. forces largely withdraw from combat over the next year and focus on training Iraqis.
The report also called for stepped-up diplomatic efforts _ including talks with Iran and Syria, which President Bush has previously spurned _ to stabilize Iraq and revive the Israeli-Palestinian peace process.
Many Arabs on Thursday interpreted the bleak assessment of Bush's Iraq policies as proof of Washington's failure in the Middle East. But others worried about the consequences if the U.S. follows the Iraq Study Group's suggestions, warning that the report could fuel insurgents and others vying to fill Iraq's security vacuum.
Mustafa Bakri, an outspoken critic of the U.S. and editor of the Egyptian tabloid Al-Osboa, told a state-run television show that the report indicated "the end of America."
Buzzards, Eagles and Turkeys
I believe you can divide Official Washington into 3 aviary types. Buzzards attack other species that are dying. Eagles kill when necessary to feed and protect their own. Turkeys are stupid birds that will stand in the rain and drown.
Our military are mostly eagles
The new congress is mostly Buzzards
The Iraq study group all turkey.