Team Infidel
Forum Spin Doctor
New York Times
June 15, 2008
Pg. 12
By Steven Lee Myers
PARIS — President Bush expressed confidence on Saturday that the United States and Iraq would agree on a new security arrangement this year, even though his strongest ally in Iraq, Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki, declared the negotiations at an impasse the previous day.
Speaking here during a European trip that has been dominated by discussions of Iran, not Iraq, Mr. Bush sought to play down remarks by Mr. Maliki suggesting that the United States was making unacceptable demands on Iraq’s sovereignty.
Mr. Maliki’s remarks, along with increasingly vociferous protests in Baghdad and opposition in the United States Congress, have cast doubts on the prospect for extending the legal authority for American forces to remain in Iraq after a United Nations mandate expires in December.
Mr. Bush said that his administration respected Iraq’s sovereignty and its leaders’ goals, adding that his administration would “accommodate their desires” and negotiate “in a way the elected government is comfortable.”
“If I were a betting man, we’ll reach an agreement with the Iraqis,” Mr. Bush said, speaking at the Élysée Palace during a news conference.
An agreement is required to establish the legal basis for the continuing American presence in Iraq, and it involves complicated and delicate issues like command over military operations and the authority for American forces to arrest Iraqi citizens.
While Mr. Maliki’s remarks sent American officials scrambling for clarification, negotiations continue, and some officials suggested he was navigating a difficult domestic political issue.
Mr. Bush, in his remarks, said the debate in fact reflected the emergence of a democratic Iraq.
“And it’s interesting to be working with a democracy where, you know, people are trying to prepare the ground to get something passed in the Parliament, for example, or the free press is vibrant,” he said.
Mr. Bush also addressed another piece of unfinished business in his presidency: the Middle East peace process.
He expressed confidence that the stalled negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians could still result in an agreement before he left office, despite Palestinian objections to the expansion of Israeli settlements and the political uncertainty surrounding Prime Minister Ehud Olmert.
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, who flew to the Middle East on Saturday, criticized Israel’s decision to build more homes in a contested part of the West Bank and said Israel needed to ease restrictions on Palestinians there.
“I understand the security considerations as well as anybody,” Ms. Rice said, according to Reuters. “But the obligation was undertaken to improve the lives of Palestinians and we are going to have to work very hard if we are going to make that true in a broader sense.”
Referring to the Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, and his prime minister, Salam Fayyad, Mr. Bush said: “I’ll also remind you that it’s essential that we get a state defined as quickly as possible, so that leaders such as President Abbas and Prime Minister Fayyad can say to their people, ‘Here’s an alternative vision to what’s taking place in Gaza,’” where Hamas took control a year ago.
“‘You support us and you’re going to get a state. You support Hamas, and you’re going to get Gaza. Take your pick.’”
June 15, 2008
Pg. 12
By Steven Lee Myers
PARIS — President Bush expressed confidence on Saturday that the United States and Iraq would agree on a new security arrangement this year, even though his strongest ally in Iraq, Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki, declared the negotiations at an impasse the previous day.
Speaking here during a European trip that has been dominated by discussions of Iran, not Iraq, Mr. Bush sought to play down remarks by Mr. Maliki suggesting that the United States was making unacceptable demands on Iraq’s sovereignty.
Mr. Maliki’s remarks, along with increasingly vociferous protests in Baghdad and opposition in the United States Congress, have cast doubts on the prospect for extending the legal authority for American forces to remain in Iraq after a United Nations mandate expires in December.
Mr. Bush said that his administration respected Iraq’s sovereignty and its leaders’ goals, adding that his administration would “accommodate their desires” and negotiate “in a way the elected government is comfortable.”
“If I were a betting man, we’ll reach an agreement with the Iraqis,” Mr. Bush said, speaking at the Élysée Palace during a news conference.
An agreement is required to establish the legal basis for the continuing American presence in Iraq, and it involves complicated and delicate issues like command over military operations and the authority for American forces to arrest Iraqi citizens.
While Mr. Maliki’s remarks sent American officials scrambling for clarification, negotiations continue, and some officials suggested he was navigating a difficult domestic political issue.
Mr. Bush, in his remarks, said the debate in fact reflected the emergence of a democratic Iraq.
“And it’s interesting to be working with a democracy where, you know, people are trying to prepare the ground to get something passed in the Parliament, for example, or the free press is vibrant,” he said.
Mr. Bush also addressed another piece of unfinished business in his presidency: the Middle East peace process.
He expressed confidence that the stalled negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians could still result in an agreement before he left office, despite Palestinian objections to the expansion of Israeli settlements and the political uncertainty surrounding Prime Minister Ehud Olmert.
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, who flew to the Middle East on Saturday, criticized Israel’s decision to build more homes in a contested part of the West Bank and said Israel needed to ease restrictions on Palestinians there.
“I understand the security considerations as well as anybody,” Ms. Rice said, according to Reuters. “But the obligation was undertaken to improve the lives of Palestinians and we are going to have to work very hard if we are going to make that true in a broader sense.”
Referring to the Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, and his prime minister, Salam Fayyad, Mr. Bush said: “I’ll also remind you that it’s essential that we get a state defined as quickly as possible, so that leaders such as President Abbas and Prime Minister Fayyad can say to their people, ‘Here’s an alternative vision to what’s taking place in Gaza,’” where Hamas took control a year ago.
“‘You support us and you’re going to get a state. You support Hamas, and you’re going to get Gaza. Take your pick.’”