Iraqi VP contradicts Bush on progress of war
Several reporters, including Time's Baghdad bureau chief, have pretty much accused the president of just plain lying about the number of Iraqi security forces who've been successfully trained and deployed. Now the Iraqi government is getting into the game.
[Iraqi Vice President Ghazi] Al-Yawer disputed contentions by U.S. officials, including President Bush, that the training of security forces was gathering speed, resulting in more professional troops.
Bush has said the United States will not pull out of Iraq until Iraq's own forces can maintain security. In a speech last week, he said Iraqi forces are becoming increasingly capable of securing the country.
Al-Yawer, a Sunni moderate, said he agreed the United States cannot pull out now because "there will be a huge vacuum," leaving Iraq in danger of falling into civil war. In particular, armed Shiite militias in the south might try to incite war if U.S.-led coalition forces leave, he said in an interview with The Associated Press and a U.S. newspaper at a conference here.
"I wish it were that simple," he said of calls to set a timetable for withdrawal or a drawdown.
But al-Yawer said recent allegations that Interior Ministry security forces — dominated by Shiites — have tortured Sunni detainees were evidence that many forces are increasingly politicized and sectarian. Some of the recently trained Iraqi forces focus on settling scores and other political goals rather than maintaining security, he said.
In addition, some Iraqi military commanders have been dismissed for political reasons, rather than judged on merit, he said.
He said the army — also dominated by Shiites — is conducting raids against villages and towns in Sunni and mixed areas of Iraq, rather than targeting specific insurgents — a tactic he said reminded many Sunnis of Saddam Hussein-era raids.
It's starting to sound like the new White House strategy is just to claim victory and... dare I say it? Cut and run.
[Iraqi Vice President Ghazi] Al-Yawer disputed contentions by U.S. officials, including President Bush, that the training of security forces was gathering speed, resulting in more professional troops.
Bush has said the United States will not pull out of Iraq until Iraq's own forces can maintain security. In a speech last week, he said Iraqi forces are becoming increasingly capable of securing the country.
Al-Yawer, a Sunni moderate, said he agreed the United States cannot pull out now because "there will be a huge vacuum," leaving Iraq in danger of falling into civil war. In particular, armed Shiite militias in the south might try to incite war if U.S.-led coalition forces leave, he said in an interview with The Associated Press and a U.S. newspaper at a conference here.
"I wish it were that simple," he said of calls to set a timetable for withdrawal or a drawdown.
But al-Yawer said recent allegations that Interior Ministry security forces — dominated by Shiites — have tortured Sunni detainees were evidence that many forces are increasingly politicized and sectarian. Some of the recently trained Iraqi forces focus on settling scores and other political goals rather than maintaining security, he said.
In addition, some Iraqi military commanders have been dismissed for political reasons, rather than judged on merit, he said.
He said the army — also dominated by Shiites — is conducting raids against villages and towns in Sunni and mixed areas of Iraq, rather than targeting specific insurgents — a tactic he said reminded many Sunnis of Saddam Hussein-era raids.
It's starting to sound like the new White House strategy is just to claim victory and... dare I say it? Cut and run.
posted by Matt Sandwich | 2:05 PM
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