Iraqi Government Bitter About “Surge”
Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki did not appear at a scheduled news conference, and Ali al-Dabbagh, an official spokesman, gave the government’s response.
Dabbagh said that the government’s goal was the eventual withdrawal of American troops, not the addition of more. “What is suitable for our conditions in Iraq is what we decide, not what others decide for us,” he commented.
Iraqi officials of the ruling Shiite party are impatient for American troops to be pulled back from the fighting in Baghdad so that Iraqi troops can take the point in that struggle. They are eager to begin governing on their own terms rather than being constrained by a definition of success as laid down by America. The minority Sunnis, however, would welcome new U.S. troops if sectarian violence could be cut down.
The Iraqis have named a new commander for the upcoming Baghdad operation, Lt. Gen. Aboud Gambar, who will report directly to Maliki. However, the capitol will remain under American operational control, and American officers and units will be embedded with Iraqi troops, as “backup” and military advisers.
Mr. Maliki has said that the solution to the problem of sectarian militias must be a political one, rather than military, but has made little progress in that area. He is backed by the top militia leader, Moktada al-Sadr.
A Shiite political leader has said that the Bush objectives seem to have been drawn up with Maliki’s failure as the expected result. His prediction was that Maliki might be forced to resign. Other leaders believe that a U.S.-backed parliamentary coup might be in the works.
What seems clear is that Bush is not satisfied with the democracy he has implemented in Iraq. Instead of a grateful puppet regime, he got an impatient group of politicians that want us gone so they can operate in their own way. Their ideal is an elected Iraqi government. The Bush objective is a Western government in the Middle East. This is not nation-building, it is new-age colonialism.
