Iraq withdrawal timetable would cut US leverage: Clinton

[ProSense]

Iraq withdrawal timetable would cut US leverage: Clinton

9 minutes ago

WASHINGTON (AFP) - Former US president Bill Clinton has said that setting a timetable to pull US troops out of Iraq would reduce US leverage on neighboring countries and on Iraqi leaders to help quell the violence.

Speaking on CNN television from India, Clinton said he was more worried about the resurgence of the Taliban in Afghanistan and suggested that some US troops in Iraq should be moved there.

But he said the United States needed to keep pressure on all actors in Iraq "to keep the whole thing from falling apart.

"I think that we probably shouldn't set a definite timetable right now, because we don't want to lose all the leverage we have to get others in the surrounding countries to work with us, and to get the Iraqi political forces to try to get more and more people to choose politics over violence," Clinton said Thursday.

"That's a fundamental problem in Iraq now, ... that there are a lot of people who believe they can get what they want at the end of the gun, better than they can through deliberations in the political system.

more...

[Drum]

1. I think that's "illusion of leverage."

And I would've expected Big Dog to know the diff.... x(

[aquart]

3. Sad, isn't it?

[blm]

9. They'll only have leverage for a political solution if we start pulling our MILITARY out.

.

[aquart]

2. We have no leverage. Bill. We have nothing but bills.

[BobRossi]

4. DLC talking points. nt

[iconoclastic cat]

5. I've gotta think Bill Clinton is a lot smarter than I am.

I still don't understand his reasoning here, however.

[TayTay]

6. I disagree with Pres Clinton on this

"I think that we probably shouldn't set a definite timetable right now, because we don't want to lose all the leverage we have to get others in the surrounding countries to work with us, and to get the Iraqi political forces to try to get more and more people to choose politics over violence," Clinton said Thursday.

I think that the Premier of Iraq just blew off Bush and the US in the last two days. If this is the leverage we have now, why would we want to protect that?

I think Clinton is wrong on this. I think that we need to set a date certain and get out. We are not positively impacting anything there and numerous Iraqis have said that we are making things worse.

I am deeply disappointed, but not surprised by Clinton on this. He has been unwilling to press the President for a real change in policy in Iraq and without that real change, the result is just more people getting blown up in a quagmire.

[Larkspur]

7. Time to send Bill a military enlistment form so he can sacrifice Chelsea

to that hell hole his wife and his friend Holy Joe Lieberman helped create.

[GreenTea]

8. All that leverage we have controlling all those rich Iraqi OIL fields!

That's what it was from the beginning, that's what it is now and that's what it will be in the future...controlling, not millions or billions but trillions of dollars of oil fields, that they stole and no one is there to throw out the imperialistic thieves, our military and our death's are to support these hungry corporations and always in the name of stopping terrorism...but who's making the money? Certainly not the troops who are dying for these corporate thieves.......The US military will be there for as long as there is a drop of oil left in Iraq...How long will we just keep getting strung along thinking they are just going to pull the troops out and leave all that OIL behind?

[lillilbigone]

13. Bingo, you get it, and so does Clinton, the Democratic party's #1 corporatist. nt

[Hawkowl]

10. Zero

Half of nothing is still nothing. What freaking leverage? If anything the longer we stay the less leverage we have because it just highlights our weakness and complete inability to protect even the green zone of Baghdad. The only leverage we have is our very real power to turn any country on the planet into a giant pile of smoking rubble.

[Zhade]

11. Fuck off, Clinton, the world disagrees with you.

NT!

[AtomicKitten]

12. Considering Iran and the Saudis have

declared when the US pulls out of Iraq they will move in and support the Sunnis, I think Clinton has a point worthy of debate rather than the typical DU knee-jerk derision.

[ProSense]

14. Considering those are the neighbors

and they're already moving ahead without the U.S.:

Iraq, Iran reach agreement on security

Clinton is making excuses!

[AtomicKitten]

15. reading comprehension helps

Iran and the Saudis have reached an agreement, not an agreement with the United States.

Again, Iran and the Saudis have declared they will support the Sunnis. I don't think it is unreasonable to be concerned about how that will affect the stability in the region in light of the civil war already in progress.

But since this thread is really just another vehicle to trash Bill Clinton and not to debate the merits of his policy statement, I'll leave you to it.

[ProSense]

16. Where does it say the agreement was with the U.S.?

Everyone is witnessing how the U.S. presence in Iraq is contributing daily to stability in the region. Stay the course! I really don't buy into the bullshit spin about leverage and the nuance of stay until American troops can stabilize a civil war!

[AtomicKitten]

17. it does not and neither did I

Iran and the Saudis have reached an agreement, not an agreement with the United States.

Again, reading comprehension helps.

[ProSense]

18. Where did I say it did? Read:

Considering those are the neighbors

Edited on Thu Nov-30-06 08:44 PM by ProSense

and they're already moving ahead without the U.S.:

Iraq, Iran reach agreement on security

Clinton is making excuses!

Comprehend?

[AtomicKitten]

19. you clearly don't

you said it here:

Where does it say the agreement was with the U.S.?

So I'll recap one last time.

The agreement between Iran and the Saudis does not solve the crisis in Iraq, in fact, it exacerbates it because of their declared intention to support the Sunnis in this already raging civil war.

Some people take seriously the responsibility of the "you broke it, you've bought it" philosophy.

Bill Clinton did not put us in Iraq. Sorting out this mess that certain Senators green-lighted is an arduous task that requires thoughtful consideration well beyond your simplistic jingoisms.

[ProSense]

20. Repeat:

Iraq, Iran reach agreement on security

Wed Nov 29, 1:20 PM ET

Iraqi President Jalal Talabani, left, and his Iranian counterpart Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, kiss before Talabani's official departure ceremony, Tehran, Iran, Wednesday, Nov. 29, 2006. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

[SOS]

23. re: reading comprehension

"Iran and the Saudis have declared they will support the Sunnis"
Iran will support the Sunnis? You're sure about that?
Do you have a link detailing the Shiite nation of Iran declaring their support for the Sunni minority in Iraq?
Seems unlikely.

[paulk]

27. I believe it's just the Saudis, AK

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20061129/ts_nm/iraq_saudi_adviser_dc

This is pretty significant, and no one seems to be talking about it. A proxy war in Iraq between Saudi Arabia and Iran - spreading perhaps to a regional conflict between Sunni and Shiite.

Talk about a worse case scenario...

[ProSense]

21. U.S. doesn't even have leverage inside Iraq!

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=132&topic_id=2995032&mesg_id=2995032

[zulchzulu]

22. We should get out of Iraq, yet we should not get out of Iraq...

We should set goals in life, yet should not set a time when we should achieve the goal. We should "say", but no "do".

:sarcasm:

[IA_Seth]

24. I actually agree with her on something.

Of course we SHOULD set a deadline, but we shouldn't do so arbitrarily, we should use it as a carrot or stick, depending upon how you view it.

We should engage Syria, Iran, the Saudi's and the rest of the regional powers to invest in a 'as-peaceful-as-possible' resolution to this mess we've been placed in. Diplomacy, not force, will end this thing..but removing force as a deterrent to chaos will not help in bringing this to a conclusion. We have to meet with Iraq and it's neighbors and use leaving as a threat or a reward to others picking up where we will leave off.

And no, I won't be voting for Hil.

[paulk]

25. Bill Clinton said this, not Hillary n/t

[IA_Seth]

26. that explains it! I guess i skipped that part. thanks! n/t