George Bush tries to buy time in Iraq
New York. His strategy was relatively clear: George Bush knew he had to buy time for his strategy in Iraq. During a press conference on July 12 2007, the president defended his record in Baghdad despite a report showing mix results for his troops surge in Iraq. “I believe we can win in Iraq and I know we must”, George Bush said while asking his fellow Americans to be patient. These were the words of a president now facing a revolt within his own Republican party. Mr Bush is in a difficult position. The report, an interim assessment required by Congress, said the Iraqi government had shown satisfactory performance so far on 8 of the 18 benchmarks but failed to meet 8 others. Six months after deciding to send an additional 30,000 US troops to Iraq, George Bush sought to deflect the debate on Iraq. He tried to emphasize the progress made on the security front in Baghdad and rejected any troop pullout. The report written by the National Security Council, says that the government of Iraqi Prime minister Nouri al-Maliki has failed to pass a law to ensure a fair distribution of oil revenue among the different communities. The reversal of existing “de-Baathification” laws that limit Sunni participation in the government, also received a failing grade among other benchmarks which were not met. George Bush spent an hour justifying and defending his Iraq strategy. His argument seems to be weakened though, as he is now facing a revolt within his own ranks. On July 11 2007, Gordon Smith (R-Oregon), became the first member of the republican party to announce on the Senate floor that he will support legislation ordering a troop withdrawal to begin within 120 days, to be completed by next April 30. He has been joined by other republican senators, such as Olympia Snowe (R-Maine) and Chuck Hagel (R-Nebraska). Other prominent conservative lawmakers have distanced themselves from the White House strategy. Republicans are nervous. One Representative, who supports the Bush plan in Iraq, dubbed as “wimps” his colleagues parting company with the president on Iraq. With the Congress debating another piece of legislation to bring US troops home, George Bush still seems to have enough votes in both chambers of the Capitol to make his veto stick in case such a law was passed. But the president is in an uncomfortable position. A new important test is now scheduled for mid-September, when a second report from Gen. David Petraeus, the commander of US forces in Iraq, is due. Jean-Cosme Delaloye CommentsYou must be logged in to post a comment. |
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