The new bad guy in Iraq

By Ron Beasley

Now that it has become impossible for all but the most moronic of the wingnuts to deny what al-Maliki said and that he and his government meant it all that is left for them to do is demonetize al-Maliki.  yes, the man that was a hero just a few short weeks ago for taking care of the "pro-Iranian" al-Sadr is now pro Iranian himself.   That at least is the not so humble opinion of Andy McCarthy.

As I've mentioned before, Maliki, of the Shiite Dawa Party which opposed the 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq in the first place, has long-standing ties to Iran and Syria — and has expressed support for Hezbollah.  The only thing that surprises me about this story is that anyone is surprised. 

And to make matters worse al-Maliki is ungrateful and doesn't appreciate the "wisdom" of the "surge".

Another telling aspect of the Spiegel interview has gotten no attention.  Maliki was asked what has calmed the violence in Iraq and responded as follows:

There are many factors, but I see them in the following order. First, there is the political rapprochement we have managed to achieve in central Iraq. This has enabled us, above all, to pull the plug on al-Qaida. Second, there is the progress being made by our security forces. Third, there is the deep sense of abhorrence with which the population has reacted to the atrocities of al-Qaida and the militias. Finally, of course, there is the economic recovery.

Notice:  No credit to or thanks for the efforts and sacrifices of the United States and our armed forces, much less the surge.  In fact, Maliki's major observation about American troops, other than that he wants them out of Iraq "as soon as possible," is that he wants the power to prosecute them for "offences or crimes committed by US soldiers against our population" — a major sticking point in negotiations over a status of forces agreement.

 

It was predictable that the right would do what they always do when the facts are not on their side - attack.

Comments

[Kat]

Andy McCarthy said:
Notice: No credit to or thanks for the efforts and sacrifices of the United States and our armed forces, much less the surge.

Looks to me like Maliki did give the US a little credit when he said, 'Finally, of course, there is the economic recovery.'

After all, after wrecking Iraq's economy, and after five years of expecting the Iraqis to get by without any money, the US finally figured out that if they didn't want people turning to the militias for employment, they needed to put a bunch of the troublemakers on their payroll. Wasn't this the seed-money for this economic recovery Maliki is talking about?