Report: U.S. secretly met with insurgents

[quaoar]

How is Bush going to explain this during his speech?

http://timesunion.com/AspStories/story.asp?storyID=373741&category=&BCCode=&newsdate=6/25/2005

Associated Press
Last updated: 12:42 a.m., Sunday, June 26, 2005

LONDON -- U.S. officials held secret talks in Iraq with the commanders of several Iraqi insurgent groups recently in an attempt to open a dialogue with them, a British newspaper reported Sunday.

The commanders "apparently came face to face" with four American officials during meetings on June 3 and June 13 at a summer villa near Balad, about 25 miles north of Baghdad, the Iraqi capital, according to The Sunday Times.

The Sunday Times said neither the Iraqi government nor U.S. officials in Baghdad would confirm its report about the talks.

Military officials in Baghdad did not immediately respond to a request by The Associated Press for comment on the Times article early Sunday morning.

[noamnety]

1. He was offering them therapy and understanding? (n/t)

[madeline_con]

9. therapy and understanding

:kick:

[FreedomAngel82]

37. And here I thought

that was our job!! :sarcasm:

[mcctatas]

2. Let me think...

the words "plausible deniability" come to mind, of course for these assholes it is plausible to deny that the sun is hot!

[LiberalAndProud]

3. Attempting to open a dialogue with insurgents?

Wonder how that went. Are they trying to find a way out of the nightmare they've conjured up?

[Oversea Visitor]

6. Can we negoatiate?

Pretty please
The poll is bad.... DSM stinks.... and the Americans people
They turning on me after all I try to do for them.

[Gay Green]

21. Are they trying to find a way out of the nightmare they've conjured up?

either that or offering them free therapy after what's been done to their country.

[halobeam]

24. No way. That would mean they realize what's going on.

THEY DON'T. I wish it were true. I want our troops home.

Adding: That would mean they CARE about what's going on.

[PurityOfEssence]

4. "Aw come on, we can HELP you fuck everyone"

Think of the money. Think of the fame. You could be big hombres around here if you can just keep a lid on dissent and help us make oodles of cash from all that oil.

Hell, we don't want to deal with them dang Shi-ites anyway; we're in this together.

[madeline_con]

10. we're in this together

:kick:

[Oversea Visitor]

5. Well Chimp

Saddam did deliver the Mother of all Battles
Come to think of it
He just let you come in and get it.

Best of all he still waiting for his trail and I dont think you will win that
Does it means he is still President of Iraq?
You on the other hand .... hmmm...
Ooops waaaahh you a Born Loser

[Bluebear]

7. Bush offers "THERAPY & UNDERSTANDING" to the enemy!

Flip flop! What's the big secret, "W"?

[helderheid]

32. OMG I love your pic of Ann! LOL

[madeline_con]

8. "One of the Americans at the talks ...

... introduced himself as a Pentagon representative and declared himself ready to "find ways of stopping the bloodshed on both sides and to listen to demands and grievances," The Sunday Times said.


Here's their out. Pay off the guys who have a beef, and then announce a timetable for withdrawal. That's my theory. They Repugs come out smelling like a rose to their folowers, and DUH gets accolades for being a swell guy. :puke:

[usregimechange]

11. Soft on terror.

[Bluebear]

12. Cheney made fun of Kerry for wanting to be "sensitive"

Now Bush negotiates with terrorists.

[FreedomAngel82]

38. Of course

Remember: these people always accuse us of what THEY'RE doing and their plans. This makes sense about Rove's comments now the other day! Maybe this has to do with Tuesday. Maybe they're planning to pull out intime for the 2006 midterms and they can win more seats because the republicans will seem like they're doing the right thing etc. cause everybody wants to leave Iraq now. On a local news site they have a poll about if we should leave Iraq and it's at Yes- 51% and No- 49% I think they definitley have something up their hands... Maybe they are working to get mescenaries (sp?) to help them from other countries with finishing the bases and leave some military there to finish as well and train the the Iraqi's. So something is definitley up. Remember in 2002 entering Iraq was time PERFECTLY with those midterms and they gained political capital so the same thing will happen with 2006 I believe. If you haven't check out a show from last week Bernie Ward did with a guy who wrote the book "Losing Iraq." He gave some GREAT info.

[usregimechange]

13. Is this on the latest breaking page?

[Bluebear]

14. Plaster it everywhere!

Paying off murderers who killed our soldiers. Disgraceful.

[usregimechange]

15. Should not this be nominated to the front page?

[Bluebear]

18. I surely did

[Theduckno2]

16. I'm not too surprised.

Remember the frames of Rumsfeld meeting Saddam Hussein? With the stock market nervous and oil at $60/barrel it was only a matter of time before they started to rethink their position. There is no elegant way out of Iraq and yet our leaving seems to be necessary to bring peace. I vote for peace in Iraq. I just wish they had done the talking about 100,000 lives sooner.

[usregimechange]

17. Anyone know anything about this news source? Considered credible?

[TahitiNut]

19. It's an AP story in the Times Union, (a Hearst paper) in Albany, NY

It's from a Sunday Times (of London) report. It's "mainstream" not tabloid.

[WePurrsevere]

27. It's one of *the* newspapers of the Capital Region of NY...

The Times Union is probably the largest and most widely circulated newspaper in the Capital District of NY. I grew up in the area and that and the Gazette (out of Schenectady) were the 2 largest.

It's been quite a few years since I've read the Times, since we now live about 5 hours north of that area and my parents get the Gazette, but it was a decent source of news and seemed to at least try to appear unbiased. I don't know if it was owned by Hearst back then or not though.

[oxbow]

20. Must we always go to British papers for news about OUR Forces in Iraq?

Why can't the US media do its goddamn job? Now its just embarassing.

Who wants to bet * sets a timetable now? He's getting it from left right and to the east.

[FreedomAngel82]

39. He probably is

That's probably what this is about. Some sort of time table in time for the 2006 midterms. They can't lose any seats next year or Bush could be in deep trouble with possibility of impeachment and not getting anything passed he wants. Also last week or maybe the end of the week before last Iraqi law makers from Shi'ite to Christian got together to tell Bush to get out.

[quaoar]

22. So, how long will it be before

we start selling arms to the insurgents?

[fooj]

23. Were they trying to "connect"? Search for "common ground"?

Grrrrr......:grr:

This just doesn't sound like the Cabal! They don't "communicate" or "compromise" with ANYBODY!

peace.

[Bluebear]

25. kick!

[Oreo]

26. video

does anybody have video or transcript of the bush regime saying they do not negotiate with terrorists?

caught in yet another lie

[usregimechange]

28. kick and nominate

[Festivito]

29. This must be what Stephanopolous asked Rummy. FLINTCH!

Rumfilled regained control in order to say that he READS REPORTS ABOUT LOTS OF MEETINGS.

Thank you cuteous George for at least one moment of unspun fun.

The rest of Rum could have been played off a DVD player.

Except for the "..let me finish my spin, er, ah, ah, sentence.."

edit: missspelin

[ThomWV]

30. Whoa There Folks. This Is Mighty Important

Do you realize how this consorting with the enemy will be viewed by the NASACAR crowd? If there is a hint that the Bush Administration has backed down and is going hat in hand to the enemy to reduce hostilities for whatever we are willing to give up for that just to improve his political situation at home those good old boys will take him out and lynch him.

[Bluebear]

35. Exactly Thom

[FreedomAngel82]

40. He'll find a way to declare "victory"

That way he won't lose any of his base and those who have gone astray could possibly come back. They'll find someway to do that. Of course all the media whore's will be saying how great he was etc.

[Chokey]

31. I thought we didn't deal with terrorists

More hypocrisy from Bush

[Zhade]

33. The insurgency is not just made up of terrorists.

There are quite a few native Iraqis who merely wish to drive invaders from their land - which we'd do if we were invaded.

[AlCzervik]

34. Gee i thought we didn't negotiate with "Terrorists"?

[snot]

36. Inconsistent w/ clm that the troublemakers are mostly FOREIGN? nt

[Straight Shooter]

41. Are they being paid from Rumsfeld's $9 Billion slush fund?

In the infamous $87 billion "I voted for it before I voted against it" appropriation of funds to Iraq, $9 billions was set aside as a slush fund for Rumsfeld.

It looks like he's found a use for some of that money.

For all the debate over President Bush's $87 billion supplemental request for military operations and economic reconstruction in Afghanistan and Iraq, no one seems to have noticed that the sum includes a slush fund of at least $9.3 billion, which Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld can spend pretty much as he pleases ...

Not less than $1.4 billion, to remain available until expended, may be used, notwithstanding any other provision of law, for payments to reimburse Pakistan, Jordan, and other key cooperating nations, for logistics, military and other support provided, or to be provided, to United States military operations.

First, look closely at those first three words: Not less than. In other words, Rumsfeld could transfer more than $1.4 billion for this purpose—how much more, who can say? The section goes on to say that Rumsfeld must notify the appropriate congressional committees whenever he uses any of this money, and that the payments must be made with the concurrence of the secretary of state. But otherwise, the bill emphasizes that he alone determines how to spend this money "and such determination is final and conclusive."

http://slate.msn.com/id/2089674

If bush wants to call these insurgents "terrorists," then yes, he is consorting (great word!) with terrorists.