Iraqi Security

Bush and Maliki are meeting. I wonder what they'll talk about.

The administration appears to be running out of options for taming the violence. U.S. strategy calls for building a political framework for reconciling Iraq's feuding sectarian groups while continuing to train and equip new Iraqi security forces. That has been Mr. Maliki's strategy too, but so far with little success. U.S. military commanders say they are considering shifting yet more American troops to Baghdad to help Mr. Maliki make an additional attempt to pacify the city.

Senior administration officials say they are deeply concerned about the increase in violence in Iraq, and they characterize the initial results of Mr. Maliki's security plan as "disappointing."

Incidentally, here's what Maliki said about Israel and Lebanon while in London:

In London, Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Maliki broke ranks with his U.S. and British allies and warned that the continued international tolerance of civilian casualties in Lebanon would spread extremism that could endanger Arab regimes throughout the Middle East. "I am afraid there will be a great push toward fundamentalism, and also a message -— a negative one -— to all those who want to follow the course of peace," Maliki said. "We will go back to zero - to actions and reactions."

The Iraqi Prime Minister has every right to express his own opinion. In fact, politically, he has to express a differing view from America for two reasons - because his people are anti-Israeli, and because publicly taking an opposing position on this issue that is so important to the "Arab Street" serves to show independence from the Americans he so depends on. He can use this issue to combat or reverse the Iraqi perception of him as America's poodle, and that would be good for our rapidly shrinking strategic goals. That being said, this is a further piece of proof that this war was not worth the cost! We have lost over 2500 servicemen, had over 18,000 wounded, and cost ourselves over 2 trillion dollars so that we could seat a governmnet that would be hostile to our friends, allies of Hezbollah, Hamas and Iran, and too weak to keep out terrorists. This seems like a good trade to conservatives?