The White House Scales Back Talk of Iraq Progress

[jefferson_dem]

Source: New York Times

The White House Scales Back Talk of Iraq Progress
By DAVID E. SANGER

WASHINGTON, April 27 — The Bush administration will not try to assess whether the troop increase in Iraq is producing signs of political progress or greater security until September, and many of Mr. Bush’s top advisers now anticipate that any gains by then will be limited, according to senior administration officials.

In interviews over the past week, the officials made clear that the White House is gradually scaling back its expectations for the government of President Nuri Kamal al-Maliki. The timelines they are now discussing suggest that the White House may maintain the increased numbers of American troops in Iraq well into next year.

That prospect would entail a dramatically longer commitment of frontline troops, patrolling the most dangerous neighborhoods of Baghdad, than the one envisioned in legislation that passed the House and Senate this week. That vote, largely symbolic because Democrats do not have the votes to override the promised presidential veto, set deadlines that would lead to the withdrawal of combat troops by the end of March 2008.

<SNIP>

But the Democrats say that if there is no measurable success by August, they believe several more Republicans will defect from Mr. Bush’s camp and vote for a staged pullout. Moderate Republicans like Senator Susan Collins of Maine, who grudgingly backed the administration in the Senate vote this week, have said they are not willing to back an open-ended commitment.

<SNIP>


Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/28/washington/28prexy.html?_r=1&hp=&oref=slogin&pagewanted=print

[wakeme2008]

1. Asshole got caught not counting car bombings and now

they are scaling back.. :grr:

[liberal N proud]

2. Nothing to talk about and the cat is out of the bag about the lies they used to get us into war

[AndyA]

3. Bring the troops home NOW!

The solution to the problems in Iraq is not a military one, it's a political and religious one. The Iraqi people need to find a way to get along. We can't do it for them.

BRING THE TROOPS HOME! THE IRAQ WAR WAS FOR A LIE!!

[Miss Chybil]

4. There will be gains...

in troop deaths. Who will be the last one to die for a lie?

[truthisfreedom]

5. Retreating with their tails between their legs. Bad week for bushco... even their response to Tenet

was tepid and meaningless. They pretended they were responding, actually, but talked about something else instead... Tenet clearly stated that the President never had any meaningful meetings about options w/regard to Iraq, but simply pushed ahead with war plans. In response, the WH said that the President carefully considered all options... that's not what Tenet said... he said there were NO MEETINGS.

[fed-up]

6. fuck 'em-"gains by then will be limited" nt

[cliss]

7. Hey Boosh, feelin the pressure yet?

As beads of sweat build on his forehead, George II tries to calculate how many days left.

"How many days left?" Until I'm out of here.

OH GEORGE, we've just started. You're just feelings the first raindrops and the horizon is black black black.


They're taking out your people, one by one. It was Wolfowitz last week, today it's Mr. Tobias. Haven't you noticed George? They're working their way up the Food Chain. You're at the Top. Feeling a little Lonesome?

I thought so.