August 22, 2007
Al-Maliki May Not Be First Choice, But He Was Elected!
This may seem a little off-putting, to be sure:
Iraq's prime minister lashed out at American criticism, saying Wednesday that no one has a right to put timetables on his elected government.
Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki blamed the U.S. presidential campaign for the recent tough words from the Bush administration and from other American politicians.
"No one has the right to place timetables on the Iraq government. It was elected by its people," he said at a news conference in Damascus at the end of a three-day visit to Syria.
"Those who make such statements are bothered by our visit to Syria. We will pay no attention. We care for our people and our constitution and can find friends elsewhere," al-Maliki said.
And now Sen. Carl Levin (D-Mich.) is spouting off that al-Maliki should be ousted. Way to make friends, there, Carl.
Am I happy that al-Maliki made gestures to Syria and is now planning on doing so to Iran? Of course not! But our making ultimatums and threats isn't going to help matters any. In fact, it may drive the Iraqi government into the arms of the enemy. And we can't have that.
Look, we wanted for the Iraqis to hold free elections to choose their own leaders. They did that. Now we have to work with the leaders the Iraqis elected. After George W. Bush was elected (twice), there was a lot of grousing by people around the world who really should have kept their mouths shut...after all, Bush was elected by a majority of the American people. Our elections are up to us, not the rest of the world. And so it is with Iraq: they made their choice, and it's not up to us to moan and carp on about it.
And as for the criticism that the Iraqi government took the month of August off and calls for them to come back now to work on important issues, I say this: our Congress traditionally takes the month of August off. We have many critical issues on the table right now, yet I don't see any of al-Maliki's congressional critics rushing back to Washington in order to get to work before September.
So cool your jets, everyone. We need to forge a working relationship with al-Maliki and his government. Otherwise, the blood, sweat and tears we've shed in Iraq may have been for naught after all.
On a tip from: Cookiewrangler
Show Comments »
Our elections are up to us, not the rest of the world. And so it is with Iraq: they made their choice, and it's not up to us to moan and carp on about it.
True, but the difference is the rest of the world does not have folks in America dying for our freedom. WE do have people in Iraq in COMBAT for 15 months at a time - watching their friends and co-workers die while this twit makes nice with Syria and Iran (two countries contributing to the violence that is killing our soldiers and their own citizens).
So while I respect the Iraqis voting their leaders into office, those leaders need to appreciate all America is giving and losing on their behalf. Making twinkle toes under the table with these terrorist states is unacceptable - especially while my husband and over a hundred thousand other service members put their lives on the line.
PS - Enjoy your blog...and look forward to reading more.
Posted by: shannon at August 22, 2007 09:38 AMGood points, Shannon...they definitely should have more respect for us. But I can appreciate the tight rope al-Maliki is walking on, with Syria and Iran and whoever else ready to jump in if we cut loose before they're ready to defend themselves. He must be sweating over there. He could be a bit more diplomatic, but then, so should our presidential candidates! Al-Maliki's probably worried that we'll be out of there soon, and then where will that leave him? He's between a rock and a hard place if we don't stick with our commitment.
I guess I'm just trying to understand where he might be coming from.
Thanks for stopping by...I look forward to your future commentary! And best wishes to your husband. I hope he remains safe.
Posted by: Pam at August 22, 2007 10:28 AMI followed Wyatt over :). Husband swears he's retiring "this time" (swore he was retiring last time he returned from Iraq lol). And with him looking at becoming a police officer when he does retire in 08, I started reading several policemen's blogs to get an idea of what he might face in another career field. At any rate, long story short - I ran across your blog following Mr. Earp and quickly found it to be a great read and decided to stick around.
I do understand your position - and what Maliki is facing. If I were in his position, I would be nervous with these socialists in America screaming for us to leave them to the slaughter as we did the Vietnamese.
However, for years, he's KNOWN (along with Bush and our military leaders) that Iran and Syria are sending foreign fighters and in Iran's case - actual military members over to stir the pot in Iraq. Our service members are paying with their lives right along with innocent Iraqi civilians, policemen and their fledgling Army. Instead of making nice, he (and don't get me wrong, Bush and our Generals have failed too in my opinion) should have sent a strong message to these shit-birds that they'd better man their borders or we're coming for them. Instead, it's only gotten worse and with that worsening, so has the political pressure here at home.
What we need is a General Patton. I truly believe that. We need a hard-core, take no prisoners leader who will fight to win. As GuyK says at Charming, Just Charming, we either need to fight to win or we need to pull up our pants and come on home. These folks have been fighting non-stop for 2,000 years...they see compassion as weakness. While we try to "make friends not enemies" - it just reinforces their opinion that we're panty wastes that won't fight to win....
Now I'm rambling, but if we aren't going to fight to win - and that means to me, taking the fight to the enemy whether they are in Iran or Syria, then we're just treading water. And, we're losing our best and brightest by doing so. I don't have the answers of course and this surge should have been done back when husband was there the first time from 03 to 04 - but if we aren't going to finish it and hit the enemy hard, the minute we draw down, we'll be right back where we were before and it will all have been for nothing.
Thanks for allowing me to ramble - and I look forward to reading your thoughts on this issue and others now that I've found you :). Take care and thank you for the well-wishes for my husband. We both truly appreciate it.
Posted by: shannon at August 23, 2007 10:20 AM
