Ducking The Press
On today’s “Meet the Press”, John Negroponte, Ambassador to Iraq, was given an opportunity by host Tim Russert to say that the United States would honor a request from the newly-elected Vichy government of Iraq to get the hell out of Dodge, and he totally ducked it.
There are lots of explanations for this that are possible, but what he absolutely didn’t say that we would honor it, if asked.
TIM RUSSERT: These are the stories that have been read across the United States and around the world about the security situation regarding voting and campaigning in Iraq: “Guerrillas have stepped up their attacks and driven most candidates deep indoors. …A result, in large swaths of the country, is a campaign in the shadows, where candidates are often too terrified to say their names. Instead of holding rallies, they meet voters in secret, if they meet them at all. Instead of canvassing for votes, they fend off death threats.”
…The CIA and other intelligence agencies have done an analysis for our government leaders. This is how The Miami Herald reported its contents. “New U.S. intelligence assessments on Iraq paint a grim picture of the road ahead and conclude that there is little likelihood that President Bush’s goals can be attained in the near future. Instead of stabilizing the country, national elections Jan. 30 are likely to be followed by more violence and could provoke a civil war between majority Shiite Muslims and minority Sunni Muslims, the CIA and other intelligence agencies predict.”
…Do you expect a newly elected Iraqi government would set a specific timetable for the withdrawal of U.S. troops?
AMBASSADOR NEGROPONTE: I don’t know whether it would do that. The presence of United States forces and the multinational force is mandated by a Security Council resolution, which says that our forces will be here during–for the duration of the political process. But the nature and extent of our military presence is always something that we’re open to discussing with Iraqi governmental authorities.
TIM RUSSERT: But if they set a specific timetable, would we honor it?
AMBASSADOR NEGROPONTE: Well, we are here at the invitation of the Iraqis, and we are here in complete respect for their sovereignty. But you are asking a hypothetical question, and I wouldn’t want anything I say to be construed as predicting whether or not that might actually happen.
Full transcript on MSNBC.
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