NEWSWEEK: Bogged Down In Baghdad

[babylonsister]

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19265742/site/newsweek/page/0/

Bogged Down In Baghdad


By Larry Kaplow and Christopher Dickey
Newsweek

June 25, 2007 issue - The call from President George W. Bush came hours after terrorist bombs brought down the minarets of the Golden Mosque in the Iraqi city of Samarra. The attack last week was a replay of the conflagration that destroyed the golden dome of the same Shiite shrine on Feb. 22, 2006—the date Iraq's sectarian strife took the turn toward open civil war. So in Baghdad, embattled Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki was scrambling: he imposed curfews, blamed Al Qaeda, pleaded with his people to forgo their vendettas. His situation looked desperate and his credibility shot. (Only the day before, he'd told visiting Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte, "We have eliminated the danger of sectarian war.") Then, at about midnight Baghdad time, the White House called.

Maliki welcomed the friendly American voice on the other end of the line. "President Bush called me, and he declared his deepest sympathy and readiness to reconstruct the whole shrine of Samarra," Maliki told NEWSWEEK in an exclusive interview. The Iraqi praised Bush's human touch. Indeed, the dour-faced Shiite politician's aides say he often brightens up after talking to the U.S. president one-on-one, whether by phone, in person or in a videoconference. "You can see how happy he is," says Sami Al-Askari, a close adviser, speaking of past encounters. "Mr. Bush encourages him."

Their bond has a lot to do with fate, says Maliki: "Destiny wanted to bring together two people who strongly stick to their principles." But the two men are also linked by their precarious political positions. The U.S. military has acknowledged that its surge in forces is not likely to bring stability to Baghdad by the end of summer. Elsewhere in the region, the Hamas takeover of Gaza and the latest assassination of an anti-Syria legislator in Lebanon suggest the impotence of American policy. So pressure is rising for some sort of political breakthrough in Iraq. In recent weeks a parade of American legislators, generals and diplomats have tramped through Baghdad to push Maliki for quicker progress on a range of stalled measures, from a new oil law to reconciling with former Baathists. Bush's unflagging support runs the risk of undercutting that message.

Perhaps it's not surprising that a stubborn president of the United States and this equally stubborn prime minister of Iraq find solace in each other's company. They're both increasingly isolated from the people they are supposed to lead. They are contemporaries (Bush is 60, Maliki is 57), and both spent most of their lives as relatively unworldly men, albeit worlds apart. Both have had to learn on the job while in the top job. Both are surrounded by small circles of confidants who have given them demonstrably bad advice where the future of Iraq is concerned. Both are at odds with fractious legislatures. Both are deeply religious and have important fundamentalist constituencies. Each of them very much needs the other to succeed, and neither has any real alternative.

But while Bush reassures Maliki, the American public's patience is running out. Last week in quick succession three senior U.S. officials flew to Baghdad—Adm. William Fallon, the top commander in the Middle East, Negroponte and Defense Secretary Robert Gates. The message the U.S. officials wanted to hammer home to the Iraqis, Gates said, is "that our troops are buying them time to pursue reconciliation, that frankly we are disappointed with the progress so far."

more...

[fed-up]

1. I am going to assume Blackwater is responsible for most death destruction unless proven otherwise nt