A welcome stamp of American approval of Iraqi attempts to forge a unity government? Well...
Iraqi officials said they, too, were surprised by the unannounced arrival of Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, and some said they feared it could disrupt negotiations to form a new government, and erode its legitimacy.
"We didn't invite them," said Kamal Saadi, a Shiite legislator close to the newly named prime minister, Nouri al-Maliki.
Saadi said Iraqi leaders hadn't been notified in advance of the visit, which came days after Iraqi politicians broke through an impasse on the naming of a prime minister.
"Maybe Rumsfeld's visit can be justified" because of the American troop presence, "but I can't see a clear reason behind Rice's visit," he said. "The crisis is over, and negotiations are taking place."
A demonstration of camaraderie and coordination among Cabinet members? Er...
Rice and Rumsfeld often seemed in separate orbits, with little of the warmth of [Rice's] earlier visit. One purpose of this joint trip was to get the sometimes conflicting military and political operations in sync for the transition to a permanent Iraqi government. But the contrasting styles of the two secretaries were sometimes jarring.
Even after arriving in Iraq after an exhausting sprint through Greece and Turkey, Rice appeared energized by the task at hand here. Rumsfeld arrived directly from Washington--after a recent Asian tour--but he seemed disengaged and bored both to reporters traveling with him and some U.S. officials. Some felt he seemed irritated at the whole exercise. He did not speak to reporters traveling with him as he flew to Baghdad.
A much-needed moral boost for our fighting troops overseas? Uh...
As Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld made their surprise visits to Baghdad on Wednesday, many of the troops stationed north of Baghdad, in Balad and Dujail, say either they didn't know about it or didn't care.
"I'd ask him for a plane ticket home to see my wife. I have barely seen her in the last two years," said a young sergeant, who did not want to be identified. Like many of the soldiers with the 4th Infantry Division, he is on his second deployment to Iraq.
Some joked that whenever VIP's come to visit they just go to the main bases and meet the "fobbits," the nickname given to troops who do not go outside the barbed wire.
They're not seen as useful, not even to each other. With each passing day, the Bush White House is becoming more and more the Boston Quackie of presidential administrations.
(Post, riposte, cross-post...)
Shakesville is run as a safe space. First-time commenters: Please read Shakesville's Commenting Policy and Feminism 101 Section before commenting. We also do lots of in-thread moderation, so we ask that everyone read the entirety of any thread before commenting, to ensure compliance with any in-thread moderation. Thank you.
blog comments powered by Disqus