Iraq government takes shape (time for U.S. troop withdrawal)

[ProSense]

What is Bush's excuse?

Iraq government takes shape

By Mariam Karouny
50 minutes ago

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraq's new government is finally taking shape and could be unveiled this week, negotiators said on Tuesday, signaling a compromise among sectarian and ethnic factions to rally behind Shi'ite strongman Nuri al-Maliki.

Guerrillas killed 19 people in one incident in Baghdad -- gunmen shot five men police said were members of the Mehdi Army Shi'ite militia and then set off a car bomb in the same bus garage that killed a further 14 people and wounded more than 30.

Senior negotiators from most groups involved in efforts to form a national unity government told Reuters Maliki could name his cabinet as early as Thursday, before the Muslim weekend and four days ahead of a constitutional deadline set a month ago.

"The government is in its final form now. Maliki will absolutely meet the constitutional deadline and will announce the government before it," said Dhafir al-Ani, spokesman of the main Sunni bloc in parliament, the Iraqi Accordance Front.

"Nobody wants him to fail. Even those who oppose the political process will not put up obstacles."

A senior Shi'ite negotiator said: "The government will be ready soon ... I mean probably in the next 48 hours."

more...

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060516/wl_nm/iraq_dc_45

http://www.johnkerry.com/action/deadline/?sc=e.20060418

[politicaholic]

1. Funny, I didn't know diarrhea had a shape...

or perhaps its the shape of a bag of wet spinach after being dropped from a 20 story window.

All I know is that, this is a great excuse for some people in Iraq to kill other people, but a government has to happen...

Eventually...

I guess...

Just thank goodness it's not going to turn out like Somolia...

I think.

[ProSense]

2. According to Bush, the forces are ready and there's no need to wait

In The Past Year, Iraqi Security Forces Have Made Real Progress. This time last year, there were only a handful of combat-ready Iraqi battalions. Now, there are over 120 Iraqi Army and Police combat battalions in the fight - typically comprised of between 350 to 800 Iraqi forces. Of these, about 80 battalions are fighting alongside Coalition forces. About 40 other battalions are taking the lead, and most are controlling their own battle space and conducting their own operations with some Coalition support.

Snip...

By Any Reasonable Standard, The Iraqi Security Forces Are Making Progress. Some critics point to the fact that only one Iraqi battalion has achieved complete independence from the Coalition. To achieve complete independence, an Iraqi battalion must not only fight the enemy on its own but also provide its own support elements, including logistics, airlift, intelligence, and command and control through their ministries. There are some battalions from NATO militaries would not be able to meet this standard. But not every Iraqi unit has to meet this level of capability for the Iraqi Security Forces to take the lead in the fight against the terrorists.

http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2005/11/20051130.html