Tweet
IMHO, Bush was humiliated. If he had any balls, he would pull the rug out from under Maliki. I can't imagine Bill Clinton taking this **** from anyone, let alone a dependent ally.
Surely, Bush is going to face hard questions from both his fellow Republicans and from Democrats over his weak behavior.
Today's New York Times.
AMMAN, Jordan, Nov. 29 — Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki of Iraq and King Abdullah II of Jordan abruptly backed out of a meeting with President Bush on Wednesday, leaving the White House scrambling to explain why a carefully planned summit meeting had suddenly been cut from two days to one.
The Debate Over Iraq The decision occurred on a day that a classified White House memorandum expressing doubts about Mr. Maliki was disclosed and after Iraqi officials loyal to a powerful Shiite cleric said they were suspending participation in the Maliki government because he had ignored their request to cancel the Bush meeting entirely.
The president and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice were already aboard Air Force One, on the way to Amman from Riga, Latvia, where they had been attending a NATO summit meeting, when they received the news by telephone from the United States ambassador to Iraq, Zalmay Khalilzad. The White House insisted Mr. Bush was not upset and had not been snubbed.
“Absolutely not,” said Dan Bartlett, counselor to the president.
With the Wednesday night meeting with the king canceled, Mr. Bush and Mr. Maliki still intend to have breakfast together here Thursday. A senior White House official said that after the king and Mr. Maliki had held a productive private meeting earlier in the day, they decided that a three-way session with Mr. Bush was not “the best use of time.”
...
The day’s events underscore the delicate task Mr. Bush and Mr. Maliki face as they head into Thursday’s meeting. As tensions rise in Iraq, friction has grown between the leaders, despite Mr. Bush’s insistence that he has faith in Mr. Maliki.
Each man is under pressure at home to extract concessions from the other. Mr. Maliki is facing demands from Mr. Sadr for the Iraqi government to wrest control of security forces from the Americans, and the boycott places more pressure on the prime minister to do just that.
Surely, Bush is going to face hard questions from both his fellow Republicans and from Democrats over his weak behavior.
Today's New York Times.
AMMAN, Jordan, Nov. 29 — Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki of Iraq and King Abdullah II of Jordan abruptly backed out of a meeting with President Bush on Wednesday, leaving the White House scrambling to explain why a carefully planned summit meeting had suddenly been cut from two days to one.
The Debate Over Iraq The decision occurred on a day that a classified White House memorandum expressing doubts about Mr. Maliki was disclosed and after Iraqi officials loyal to a powerful Shiite cleric said they were suspending participation in the Maliki government because he had ignored their request to cancel the Bush meeting entirely.
The president and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice were already aboard Air Force One, on the way to Amman from Riga, Latvia, where they had been attending a NATO summit meeting, when they received the news by telephone from the United States ambassador to Iraq, Zalmay Khalilzad. The White House insisted Mr. Bush was not upset and had not been snubbed.
“Absolutely not,” said Dan Bartlett, counselor to the president.
With the Wednesday night meeting with the king canceled, Mr. Bush and Mr. Maliki still intend to have breakfast together here Thursday. A senior White House official said that after the king and Mr. Maliki had held a productive private meeting earlier in the day, they decided that a three-way session with Mr. Bush was not “the best use of time.”
...
The day’s events underscore the delicate task Mr. Bush and Mr. Maliki face as they head into Thursday’s meeting. As tensions rise in Iraq, friction has grown between the leaders, despite Mr. Bush’s insistence that he has faith in Mr. Maliki.
Each man is under pressure at home to extract concessions from the other. Mr. Maliki is facing demands from Mr. Sadr for the Iraqi government to wrest control of security forces from the Americans, and the boycott places more pressure on the prime minister to do just that.
Comment