Nothing Gained

30 November 2006

The following quote is from Pres. Bush's remarks after his meeting with PM Al-Maliki in Jordan.  "One of his frustrations with me is that he believes that we've been slow about giving him the tools necessary to protect the Iraqi people," Bush said. "He doesn't have the capacity to respond. So we want to accelerate that capacity."

We've been slow, I would beg to differ, we have not been slow. He has not done his job to maintain the capacity that we have provided him and the Iraqi government. He has not demanded that the militia's stand down--they do more damage to his capacity than anything that the Americans do. It is the militias that are bombing the police stations and recruiting places. It is the militias that are killing anyone that is working for the betterment of Iraq, not the Americans. It is his own supporters, Sadrists that have boycotted the government because of Maliki's meeting with Bush. They are flexing their power and Maliki is letting them. If he wants "the capacity to respond" to mean something then  he needs to let the Iraqi police and Iraqi Army do their job and not put Sadr City and Al-Sadr off limits to law and justice. You cannot have a free and independent nation with international respect if your laws only apply to some and not all. If Iraq is to be a safe and secure place then NO ONE can be above or outside of the law. Someone needs to remind him that he is Prime Minister of Iraq not of Sadr City.
There has been suggestions that he is a puppet leader and I must agree with that. However, there are elements that want you to believe that it is Washington that is pulling the strings, they are wrong, dead wrong, his strings are not that long--they do not reach past Sadr City.  It is time for Iraqi leaders, ALL Iraqi leaders, to step up to the plate, to come together put differences aside and make decisions that will move  ALL of Iraq forward.
It is inexcusable to me and should be to the Iraqi people, that the leaders of their elected government show less internal fortitude running the government than the masses did in going to the poles and placing their votes. It is my humble opinion that Al-Maliki has lost his ability to be the right man for the job. He lacks the strength and charisma to overcome the petty bickering of even the factions within his own coalition, much less the difficulties of a unified Iraqi government. Unfortunately, there does not appear to be anyone with these qualities left in Iraq. How is it that a country with the population and history and culture of Iraq has allowed its populace to lose their strength and ability? With all that Iraq has to show for her past it appears that she is struggling to show anything for her future.