Iraq FM: American pullout would bring disaster
posted at 4:35 pm on March 18, 2008 by Ed Morrissey
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How badly would an American pullout affect Iraq? According to the nation’s foreign minister, all of the security gains would evaporate and bring the country back to the brink of civil war. Hoshyar Zebari spoke to the Associated Press to make sure Americans know exactly what is at stake:
Iraq’s foreign minister said Tuesday that he believes his country has averted a civil war after five years of “tears and blood,” and warned that an abrupt U.S. troop withdrawal would be disastrous.
Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari told The Associated Press that mistakes had been made by all sides but Iraq has reached a turning point.
“These past five years I think were full of hopes and promises but also of tears and blood … and we’ve gone through a very, very difficult transformation,” said Zebari, a Kurd who has held his post in each successive Iraqi administration since the U.S.-led invasion on March 20, 2003.
He noted that the Iraqis had established a government and gained freedoms that were absent under nearly three decades of Saddam Hussein’s rule, despite violence that has killed tens of thousands of Iraqis and nearly 4,000 U.S. troops.
Why speak up now? Zebari has grown concerned about the election-year rhetoric coming from Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. Both Democrats continue to assure voters that they’ll bug out of Iraq faster than the other, even if their colleagues in Congress have learned to avoid talking about Iraq altogether.
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well no $#@!
spacekicker on March 18, 2008 at 4:39 PM
That pic showed up huge giant on my web page!
cntrlfrk on March 18, 2008 at 4:42 PM
Any particular reason for wiping out Condi’s face?
corona on March 18, 2008 at 4:43 PM
So who are you gonna believe, some Iraqi guy or Blinky Pelosi?
Cicero43 on March 18, 2008 at 4:45 PM
Captain Ed broke the internets.
malan89 on March 18, 2008 at 4:47 PM
Foreign Minister Zebari is one of the Iraqi leaders I trust. I think he may be onto something…
LT Nixon on March 18, 2008 at 4:49 PM
Yeah. That Condi picture is totally clogging up the series of tubes.
SteakRules on March 18, 2008 at 4:50 PM
Yeah…the photo has to be sized down a bit.
Connie on March 18, 2008 at 4:50 PM
But I thought the Iraqi troops wanted to elect Democrats?
NeoconNews.com on March 18, 2008 at 4:50 PM
He seems to have a knack for that sort of thing. >:D
Chakra Hammer on March 18, 2008 at 4:57 PM
http://i32.tinypic.com/2u587bp.jpg
Here you go Ed. ;)
Chakra Hammer on March 18, 2008 at 5:00 PM
http://i26.tinypic.com/1zbzaro.jpg
Or this one IF you just want to single him out..
Chakra Hammer on March 18, 2008 at 5:04 PM
Both Democrats continue to assure voters that they’ll bugger
out ofIraq faster than the other, even if their colleagues in Congress have learned to avoid talking about Iraq altogether.Thats more accurate.
Corsair on March 18, 2008 at 5:08 PM
I think he can change the size of the picture to no more than 200 x 200 pixels. That would work in any of the programming code within the blog.
newton on March 18, 2008 at 5:09 PM
http://www.getpaint.net/
Free photo editor. ;)
Chakra Hammer on March 18, 2008 at 5:17 PM
The Dembots know this, and don’t give a crap.
flipflop on March 18, 2008 at 5:22 PM
Hillary the other day said she would pull out and if need be
have small strike teams to do the nastys!
Unfreagginbelievable,I don’t know if Hillary is stupid or just Dangerously stupid.At first I thought it was a call to
arms of the Code Pinkos or the Anti-War Moonbats that enjoy
burning down recruitment centres for entertainment!
Hillary whether she knows it or not has told the enemy that
she will leave Irag,they damn well know its a waiting game,
and Hillary thinks strike teams will work!
Hillary doesn’t have a clue about the Military,BTW if Hillary does become POTUSOA,will she enforce the dress code
and not allow the Military uniform to be worn within the
White House,the all caring and compassionate for the United
States soldier!
If Hillary,by her own words,follows through,this will be
beyond catastrophic,Iran,Syria and the rest of the Jihady
goons will go on a rampage that will be a thousand times
worse than what happened in Africa between the Hutto’s
and Tutsi’s
And the United States would have to go back in again and
in the Liberal term —- a do over,and retake Irag,and by
the way Hillary,Military expert at what cost,again Hillary!
canopfor on March 18, 2008 at 5:24 PM
Then they’re not really gains any more than a Victoria’s Secret model is $30 million richer when she wears a diamond-laden bikini for a stroll on the runway.
Difficult yes. Transformation? Jewels go on, jewels come off. More of a costume change.
Mark Jaquith on March 18, 2008 at 5:50 PM
Jewels are dead things. I see Iraq more in terms of keeping the crows out of the corn field until the crop is ‘as high as an elephant’s eye.’
Claire on March 18, 2008 at 6:18 PM
Ok, so the US should stick around in Iraq. But do we need to keep building out their infrastructure when bridges and highways in the US have no funding for repairs and the budget deficit continues to expand?
bayam on March 18, 2008 at 7:30 PM
Well, if so, then they certainly can not have made much progress in these five long years then can they have?
And whatever happened to our being in Iraq for our own interests?
None of the candidates are talking about an abrupt withdrawal anyway, unless one thinks that anything less than fifty years, make it a hundred, is abrupt.
MB4 on March 18, 2008 at 7:38 PM
Duh… we already know that. Stop squibbling over every little thing and do your job and stop taking vacations until your job is done.
We have to live with Pelosi and Ried, so anything the Iraqi government faces has to be miniscule.
Get on it!
Hog Wild on March 18, 2008 at 10:01 PM
I used to think Iraq was Syracuse but the good news I suppose is that it’s more like Verdun.
BL@KBIRD on March 18, 2008 at 10:06 PM
Remember that BillyJeff’s idea of deploying the military consisted of the following:
* “Humanitarian” reasons only/or deployment dependent on “permission” from the United Nations
* Ground forces too small to be considered anything more than a tripwire if actual combat conditions eventuated (e.g., Somalia 1993)
* Airpower shows with little actual force projection and few/no boots on the ground (e.g., “Northern Watch” and “Southern Watch”; cruise missiles fired at [empty] Taliban and al-Queda training camps; Bosnia)
As CINC, BillyJeff was reckless, dangerous, and downright stupid in his deployment choices. And Hillary learned all she knows about the use of the US Military from him.
Wanderlust on March 19, 2008 at 3:08 AM