"Biden visits Baghdad amid political impasse; Will meet with country’s leaders, offer assurances" by Leila Fadel, Washington Post | July 4, 2010
Remember, readers, the Washington Post is the CIA 's newspaper so this is straight from the horse's mou..., well, try the other end.
BAGHDAD — Vice President Joe Biden made a surprise visit to Baghdad yesterday for the Fourth of July holiday in the midst of a political deadlock nearly four months after Iraq’s national election.
Biden arrived at a time when many question whether the US policy in Iraq is adrift.
Who is questioning it? Many?
They say they worry that with a shift of attention toward America’s other war, in Afghanistan, and so much attention on the planned drawdown and ultimate withdrawal of US troops, the United States is focused only on its exit and not the success of a still very shaky democracy in Iraq....
Oh, so the PEOPLE WHO WANTED TO STAY are the ones RAISING QUESTIONS -- and having the agenda-pushing MSM megaphone it for them.
Biden’s visit may be a signal to Iraq that the US administration is still engaged.
Translation: We are NEVER LEAVING, America.
A White House statement said Biden would celebrate the holiday with the troops, “reaffirm’’ the US “long-term commitment’’ to Iraq....
Translation: We are NEVER LEAVING, America.
There an echo in here?
Related: Occupation Iraq: Why We Must Stay
And LOOK WHO ELSE was also in Iraq!
Biden and his wife, Jill, were greeted by US Ambassador Christopher Hill, General Ray Odierno, the top US military commander in Iraq, Iraq’s foreign minister, Hoshyar Zebari, and two other senior military commanders. Senators John McCain, Republican of Arizona, Joe Lieberman, independent of Connecticut, and Lindsey Graham, Republican of South Carolina, were also in Iraq on an unrelated trip; they greeted the vice president later, before he went into meetings....
They are like Siamese triplets!
A few others popped off while he was there, of course!
"Biden presses Iraqis to work together; Suicide bombers strike during visit" by Rebecca Santana, Associated Press | July 5, 2010
BAGHDAD — Vice President Joe Biden urged rival Iraqi politicians yesterday to end months of delays and select new leaders for their wobbly democracy, predicting a peaceful transition of power even as suicide bombers struck government centers in two major cities.
The attacks in Mosul and Ramadi underscored persistent fears that insurgents will exploit Iraq’s political uncertainty to stoke widespread sectarian violence. Four people were killed and 25 injured in the two blasts, which occurred hundreds of miles apart.
The explosions illustrated the vexing nature of the US involvement in Iraq and its efforts to nudge the country toward stability and democracy.
See: Occupation Iraq: Up and Down "Al-CIA-Duh"
You like being a yo-yo, 'murkn?
At least five mortar rounds also fell in the Green Zone late yesterday when Biden was there, said Iraqi police officials. The Green Zone is the sprawling protected area in the heart of Baghdad that is home to the US Embassy as well as the Iraqi parliament and prime minister’s office.
There were no reported casualties, said the officials, who did not want to be identified because they were not authorized to speak to reporters. Mortars and rockets are periodically fired into the Green Zone but rarely result in casualties or damage.
On his fifth trip to Iraq since he was elected, Biden sat down separately with Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, a Shi’ite who is struggling to keep his job after his party lost the March 7 election, and his chief challenger, former premier Ayad Allawi....
Like I give a crap that he sat down with Stooge A and Puppet B.
Earlier, talking to US troops, Biden said: “When the new government is formed, it will mark something absolutely extraordinary: a peaceful transition of power encompassing all the people of Iraq, maybe for the first time in their history.’’
At the cost of HOW MANY MILLIONS, Joe?
How can he call it a "peaceful" transfer?
Oh, btw, CIA helped out on a couple of those.
Biden met first with Allawi, where he was kept waiting for a few minutes at the home of Deputy Prime Minister Rafia al-Issawi, an Iraqiya lawmaker.
That's a signal to Joe! Allawi not happy.
After the hourlong, closed-door talk, Allawi said that Biden offered no specific proposals to end the impasse “but there was an interest in Iraq’s stability, and that the forming of the government should not be prolonged.’’
Allawi called the discussion “frank and constructive.’’
Several hours later, Maliki spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh said Biden warned the prime minister in their 90-minute meeting that delays in forming the government “will bring crisis in Iraq, and the political alliances should make an effort to avoid this crisis.’’
Looks like a THREAT to me.
Dabbagh, who attended part of the meeting between the two, said Biden also expressed fears by the Obama administration over “the regional interference in Iraq.’’ That generally refers to Iranian meddling, but Dabbagh said Biden did not single out any nation.
Not worried about those Mossad bases in Kurdistan, 'eh, Joe?
--more--"
And as far as the politics:
"Iraq mired in political impasse over Maliki’s role" by Rebecca Santana, Associated Press | July 13, 2010
BAGHDAD — Hopes that Iraq’s parliament could convene this week fell apart yesterday as the country stumbled into its fifth month with no new government and the prime minister hitting a brick wall with his nominal Shi’ite allies, some of whom deeply oppose his staying in his post.
And I guess we will just have to stay until they get it sorted out, huh?
The heads of the main political blocs met yesterday in the latest attempt to find common ground, but with no resolution on filling top posts in sight, they decided to delay the next session for two weeks, said the acting parliament speaker, Fouad Massoum.
That means more backroom negotiations as Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki tries to cobble together a coalition that will back him for a new term, while his rivals press for him to step down, all against a backdrop of the US military preparing to withdraw all combat troops by September and all forces by the end of next year.
I will BELIEVE IT WHEN Iraqis SEE IT!
Shi’ite parties appeared to have made a breakthrough in early May when Maliki’s State of Law and the Iraqi National Alliance, a Shi’ite bloc backed by Iran, announced a coalition that seemed to give them a sure hand to form the government. But they have since been deadlocked over Maliki, as some alliance members staunchly reject a new term.
Related: Occupation Iraq: Sadr Crowns Maliki King
I was wondering what happened to that deal.
So who did the U.S. pay off to pull out?
“They seem to be totally stalemated, and they’re totally stalemated because nobody wants Maliki to be prime minister,’’ said Marina Ottoway, from the Carnegie Endowment for Peace, based in Washington.
The deadlock is so tough that the prime minister is now flirting with his archrival, Ayad Allawi, a secular Shi’ite who leads the mainly Sunni coalition, Iraqiya. But that political combination has its own challenges.
To be sure, no one thought seating a new government would be easy....
Then BUSH'S SURGE FAILED!!!
It was SUPPOSED to PAVE the WAY for POLITICAL RECONCILIATION and it HAS NOT!!
Members of the Iraqi National Alliance, which includes followers of anti-American cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, have vehemently opposed Maliki continuing as prime minister.
Am I supposed to believe that coming from the MSM?
Maliki jailed thousands of Sadr’s supporters during US-Iraqi offensives in their strongholds of Basra and Baghdad’s Sadr City.
Yeah, somehow that is all forgotten -- as well as it taking IRAN to make the PEACE between them!
The Shi’ite alliance was more about keeping Allawi from power rather than any desire to work together, said Mahmoud Othman, an independent Kurdish politician....
Oh, so THAT is why it fell apart -- says the Kurd from up north!
Officials from both parties in the alliance said other objections to Maliki included poor relations with the Arab world and a tendency to act without consulting others outside his inner circle, pushing members of his Dawa Party into government posts and appointing members of the armed forces loyal to him....
You know, the SAME THINGS Saddam did!
Also see: Occupation Iraq: Government Hit Squad Killed Reporters
Occupation Iraq: Maliki Shuts Down News Media
Occupation Iraq: Maliki Drains the Marshes
Occupation Iraq: Hiring Hussein's Henchmen
Occupation Iraq: Resurrecting Saddam Hussein
Meet the new boss, Iraqis -- same as the old boss!
Only problem is the Saddam times are the GOOD OLD DAYS to Iraqis now.
No wonder NO ONE WANTS Maliki BACK as PM!!
