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2005-07-13 Iraq-Jordan

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Posted by Fred 2005-07-13 00:00|| || Front Page|| [1 views since 2007-05-07] Top

#1 Sheesh. I want to be happy about this, but something tells me Jaafari's several bricks shy of a load and should really just STFU a lot more often. Sigh.

Posted by .com 2005-07-13 02:56|| 2005-07-13 02:56|| Front Page Top

#2 I suspect Jaaf is feeling heat from the ashholes in the US Congress and other unimpressive MSM freaks. He is also hearing from Tater and Company.

Not a bad PR move, however, as he knows full well that the US will not pull out prematurely.

Posted by Captain America 2005-07-13 04:38|| 2005-07-13 04:38|| Front Page Top

#3 I think they are. But Iraqi government tactics will be a little different if Uncle Sam bails - expect a major bloodbath, as entire Sunni tribes are massacred to the last man, woman and child. Sunnis should worry when Shiite officials make statements like this.

Posted by Zhang Fei">Zhang Fei 2005-07-13 07:35|| http://timurileng.blogspot.com]">[http://timurileng.blogspot.com] 2005-07-13 07:35|| Front Page Top

#4 ...he wants any withdrawal plan to be âan Iraqi decision with an Iraqi timetable â not with a terror timetable.â

Catchy! And no Senator Weasel timetable, either!

Posted by Bobby 2005-07-13 07:56|| 2005-07-13 07:56|| Front Page Top

#5 I think we're o.k. with pulling out of the northern (Kurdish) areas. The southern areas I'm not so sure about. Just a P.R. move, in my mind.

Posted by BA">BA 2005-07-13 08:31|| 2005-07-13 08:31|| Front Page Top

#6 I also think it's a PR story to try and quiet some of the 'timetable' talk. That said, there are indeed provinces where coalition forces could be removed (or withdrawn to secure bases and used only in emergencies) without changing things. The Kurdish region, the south-central region, and Basra seem pretty quiet these days.

Posted by Steve White">Steve White 2005-07-13 08:54|| 2005-07-13 08:54|| Front Page Top

#7 The Poles are pulling out (on schedule, officially) in a few months. Rather than put more US or UK troops in, I think the idea is to formally turn over some provinces to the Iraqi forces. Troops will be shifted around, so that that the Iraqis can take the quietist places.

BTW Basra is one of the less quiet places in the Shia south, having both a substantial Sunni minority, and a bunch of Sadr supporters (thouhg it still quieter than the triangle). I think the Brits will be there for a while yet. There are other smaller cities in the south that are much quieter.

The real question is opimizing your use of limited first line Iraqi troops. So far the attempt seems to have been to use them in Baghdad, which is likely the keystone of the entire counterinsurgency effort, and where they are particularly valuable. Putting them in the south, purely to make the political point that there are cities with no foreign troops, means that many less available for Baghdad.

Note - the political angle is not only for the US and UK public, but for the Iraqi (sunni arab) fence sitters who may be willing to join the political process, but are uncomfortable with the coalition presence. Im not sure if such a limited change really buys much, but I assume the Iraqi pols know better than I do.

Posted by liberalhawk 2005-07-13 12:53|| 2005-07-13 12:53|| Front Page Top

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