WP: No Rift With Administration, Baker and Hamilton Say

[kskiska]

Monday, December 11, 2006; Page A15

Former secretary of state James A. Baker III said for the first time yesterday that the Iraq Study Group remains committed to democracy in Iraq, as he and Co-Chairman Lee H. Hamilton offered conciliatory words to a Bush administration that has reacted coolly to the panel's key recommendations.

The group's report makes no mention of President Bush's oft-stated goal of establishing democracy in Iraq; in the five days since its release, Baker and Hamilton have talked in more modest terms, referring to Bush's recent formulation of creating an Iraq that can govern and defend itself. But in an interview on "Fox News Sunday," Baker emphasized: "We don't negate the goal of democracy."

(snip)

The comments appeared part of an effort by Baker and Hamilton to use the Sunday talk shows to play down talk of rifts between the panel and the Bush administration, which is finishing its own review of strategy in Iraq. In televised interviews, Baker said he understands the administration's internal studies call for some of the things his panel urged, such as changing the focus of the U.S. military presence in Iraq from combat to training.

Baker also sought to portray the panel's proposal for a more aggressive Middle East diplomatic effort as less ambitious than its critics have suggested. At a news conference last week, Bush seemed to take issue with the panel's suggestion that his administration should engage in high-level dialogue with Syria and Iran without preconditions.

more…
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/12/10/AR2006121000553.html

[htuttle]

1. My head is about to explode again...

ISG: "Black is black, white is white."
Bush: "Black is white, white is black."
ISG: "We don't disagree with Bush."

AAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!

:crazy:

[leftyladyfrommo]

7. Really! That is just how I feel. Down the Rabbit Hole again n/1

[Tellurian]

8. If you believe this headline, I've got a BRIDGE to sell ya!

:rofl:

[Say_What]

2. Anybody but me think this is a WARNING to El Mono (Chimpy)?

[goclark]

3. The Chimp on the Right is Adorable~

[jfxgillis]

4. It's a whole lot more than a warning

BLITZER: So you think the U.S. can still win?

HARMAN: No, I think the U.S. cannot win on this course. "Stay the course" has to change.

By the way, I think the president is soon going to lose his command authority. It's going to move to the Pentagon, under Bob Gates, the newly confirmed secretary of defense, who is there to make new decisions, working with Congress.

BLITZER: But the president's still the commander in chief.

HARMAN: Surely, he is. But the vice president no longer is the center of the action in the administration, and I'm saying the president may not be either. It doesn't mean he won't be in place. It doesn't mean he can't countermand decisions. But he's going to have pushback from a Pentagon that's going to have a very different view of this. (emphasis added)

http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0612/10/le.01.html

[Say_What]

9. Wow! Thanks for posting that snippet from the transcript...

this one is priceless: But the vice president no longer is the center of the action in the administration, and I'm saying the president may not be either.

What a slap in the face to the NeoCons. :evilgrin:

[Tellurian]

10. So, the US is a rudderless ship fighting an unwinable WAR..

False sense of security given to Cheney..

hahahaha! Big Dick is going to take the fall for this catastrophe.

[jfxgillis]

13. That's scarier

than having a rudder and fighting an unwinnable war.

Basically, the Masterclass installed Bob Gates as Commander-in-Chief in violation of the institutions of the Republic.

[Tellurian]

14. Errr...Dept of Defense..

Last I heard, Gates hasn't been appointed President, CIC, by any authority.

[jfxgillis]

16. Oh, technically Gates is Secretary of Defense, and ...

... technically, Bush is still C-in-C.

But all they're going to do is let Bush do the rah-rah speeches.

The disposition of forces is Gates' job.

[Az_lefty]

15. Harman just admitted Cheney's been running the show...

the investigations need to start immediately. Get these rat-bastards into a corner and they may start resigning.
:grr:

[Solly Mack]

5. snicker

lolololol

haha

[Rose Siding]

6. Obviously, Baker's star-chamber gaggle forgot to talk to this guy-

Philip Martin is one tough leatherneck. 7 months in Al-Anbar. Stationed now at Twentynine Palms preparing to go back in April 2007. 21 years old.

"....I stood through a memorial service today for a young Marine that was killed in Iraq back in April. During this memorial a number of people spoke about the guy and about his sacrifice for the country. How do you justify 'sacrificing' your life for a war which is not only illegal, but is being prosecuted to the extent where the only thing keeping us there is one man's power, and his ego. A recent Marine Corps intelligence report that was leaked said that the war in the al-Anbar province is unwinnable. It said that there was nothing we could do to win the hearts and minds, or the military operations in that area. So I wonder, why are we still there? Democracy is not forced upon people at gunpoint. It's the result of forward thinking individuals who take the initiative and risks to give their fellow countrymen a better way of life."....

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2006/12/9/23427/5016

Or maybe Poppy's tears just melted the old Fixer's heart.

[Binka]

11. That Kid Is With Bens Unit

I wish they would refuse to return! :cry:

[Solly Mack]

12. Unreal and yet all too real - the world we find ourselves in

:(