At the end of yet another Friedman

[babylonsister]

http://www.thecarpetbaggerreport.com/archives/10973.html

At the end of yet another Friedman
Posted 4:45 pm


After the midterm elections, it became common to hear Republicans say that Bush had maybe another six months to turn things around in Iraq. By the time the so-called “surge” was announced in January, that talk became louder.

Atrios, however, has done a very impressive job of keeping track of some of those deadlines. And wouldn’t you know it, time’s up.

Here, for example, is an item from Nov. 30, 2006:

Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki said Thursday that his country’s forces would be able to assume security command by June 2007 — which could allow the United States to start withdrawing its troops.

“I cannot answer on behalf of the U.S. administration but I can tell you that from our side our forces will be ready by June 2007,” Maliki told ABC television after meeting President Bush on Thursday in Jordan.

And here’s another, two months later, on Jan. 30, 2007:

Even Republicans supporting President Bush’s new Iraq strategy have been saying this is the last chance for the Iraqi government, and there may be an underlying message for the President there as well. US News Political Bulletin hears from GOP strategists with close ties to Capitol Hill that the President and his senior aides are too optimistic about keeping GOP congressional support for the Iraq war over the long term. One senior Republican adviser says Bush has “until April or May” to improve things in Iraq. If he cannot, he could face a GOP rebellion that could result in reductions in spending for the conflict and legislation to start bringing the troops home.

The sad thing is, beyond the obvious tragedy, is that these exact same people are going to say the exact same thing for the rest of the year. Let’s give it to September. September’s here? Well, let’s at least give it through the end of the year. 2008 is here? Let’s revisit in the spring. Or the late summer. Or around the election. Or around the next inauguration.

The accountability moment never comes. And with Bush in office, it almost certainly never will.

[cosmik debris]

1. Thanks, that's a good post. n/t

[Jacobin]

2. Memo from the Weights and Measurements Bureau:

"Please be advised that the Friedman Unit, formerly quantified as 'six months', has been changed. The new Friedman Unit is now quantified as a decade. This change was made due to Bush*s statements that the U.S. is likely to be in Iraq for 50 years or more. Proper usage of the Friedman Unit should now be used only once every ten years, e.g. 'Just give us one more decade and we will see progress and the troops can start coming home.'"

Please update your files.

Thank you.