Some initial thoughts on Hillary's demand that Maliki resign.

[calteacherguy]

Actually, I believe she said something to the effect of hoping the Parliament replaces him with a better leader, because he has proven his government is not and cannot be functional. In any case...

Iraq is not a sovereign nation. It won't be a sovereign nation as long as the occupation continues in it's present form. So any criticism of her statement on that basis is invalid. Now, obviously BushCo. is going to say she is undermining U.S. foreign policy or some such nonsense, and should not be making such statements as a Presidential candidate. Whatever.

The most important thing is all this simply shows how much of a failure the administration's policy has been. They are trying to prop up a hopeless case. That's the problem, not any statements by Hillary. Obviously, she didn't just make this statement off the cuff. That's not how Hillary operates. She has clearly concluded that there is no chance of Maliki leading a functional government. She is assuming she will be proved right as the Maliki government continues to degenerate. Either that, or he will be replaced. Either way, she's calculated she can make herself look like a realist and Bush look like more of an imbecile.

She has thought this thru, count on it.

[JNelson6563]

1. "She has thought this thru, count on it"

Oh I'll bet it's even more than that. I'd wager key consultants have hashed it out and perhaps it's even been put before a focus group or two.

Julie

[emilyg]

2. I hope so. Smart woman.

[JNelson6563]

7. Yep, surely as smart as Kerry

with his consultant heavy, poll driven campaign. *gag*

[sandnsea]

12. Kerry is not Hillary

And other than Pete, I don't know any Kerry people who are supporting Hillary. It's not conducive to bash his campaign. Everybody uses consultants and polls, it's ridiculous to believe they don't. Bottom line, the bin Laden tape is what move the numbers at the end. Clinton didn't even get a full percentage more than Kerry in 1996 and he was a sitting President. These attacks on Kerry are absolutely ludicrous. That they were started the day after the campaign by groups that are now supporting Hillary, well that says it all to me.

[Sarah Ibarruri]

3. The U.S. is now looking for a good puppet to lead Iraq

A good puppet, by U.S. standards, is one that keeps his foot on the throat of his country, while taking orders from the U.S. It's the same old story. U.S. either attacks or pays to attack a country. U.S. puts puppet as leader. Country becomes the slave of the U.S.

[Progressive Friend]

5. Exactly, Washington just wants a puppet who will privatize the oil

And allow the US to keep its giant military bases in Iraq. Of course, the vast majority of patriotic Iraqis will never tolerate this and will continue with armed resistance until all occupation forces have been expelled.

[Sarah Ibarruri]

6. Iraq used to be a country. It had tourism, museums, schools, restaurants, shops....

universities, running water, electricity, everything. The U.S. has destroyed it to steal its oil. It'd be rather monstrous if it weren't the modus operandus of this country since time immemorial.

[Hippo_Tron]

11. IMO at this point we should just be worried about how to keep the conflict from spilling over

My only security concern about Shi'ite controlled Iraq is that they won't be able to stay peaceful with the Saudis. Truth be told Saddam provided a perfect buffer between Saudi Arabia and Iran because he was hostile toward both countries. Raygun's guys knew exactly what they were doing when they set up a secular strong-man in the middle of a region of mostly theocratic governments. What they didn't realize is that said strong man was ambitious and wanted to take over the entire region.

[beachmom]

4. I don't think it's right to comment on this until we see a link

and the exact wording. Does anyone have this?

[calteacherguy]

8. Link to Clinton's statement.

Levin had "confirmed that the Iraqi governments failures have reinforced the widely held view that the Maliki government is nonfunctional and cannot produce a political settlement, because it is too beholden to religious and sectarian leaders," Clinton said in a statement.

"I share Senator Levin's hope that the Iraqi parliament will replace Prime Minister Maliki with a less divisive and more unifying figure when it returns in a few weeks."

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20070822/pl_afp/usiraqpoliticsclinton

[bvar22]

9. Maliki has refused to move on the demanded "Oil Law".

The Oil Law is #1 Benchmark demanded from Iraq by both the Republican Party AND the Democratic Party.

This law effectively privatizes Iraqi Oil and gives 80% of known production and 100% of future finds to Global Corporations. Naturally, Iraqis don't really want to give away their oil.
Maliki has been dragging his feet and the BIG US CORPORATIONS are getting anxious for more profits.
Many are beginning to realize that Maliki (and Iraq) really have no intentions of letting the US steal their oil. If the Iraqi Parliament actually votes to legitimize this THEFT, they know that they will be hanging from a lampost if they ever try to leave the Imperial Palace (Green Zone).

*The ONLY Democrat to OPPOSE the Oil Law is Dennis Kucinich.

*Hillary has openly criticized the Iraqi Parliament for NOT passing the Oil Law, and has pledged to keep combat forces in Iraq to "protect American Interests" (read "to enforce the Oil Law")

*Obama supports the Benchmarks (Oil Law).

*Edwards..?

[flyarm]

10. i am damn sick of this shit!..be quiet Hillary! now!..

how many have to die for that damn oil Hillary?????????????

stfu hillary!

fly