Talabani: Iraq won't have civil war (1 Viewer)

[Trajan Octavian Titus]

Talabani: Iraq won't have civil war

By BARRY SCHWEID AP Diplomatic Writer
© 2006 The Associated Press

WASHINGTON — Iraqi President Jalal Talabani disputed on Tuesday reports of growing violence in his country and declared, "I can assure you there will be no civil war."

At a news conference, Talabani also leveled a warning to Iraq's neighbors that interference will not be tolerated.

situation. He said it had improved since last year when many areas were in the control of terrorists.
Last year, he said by way of example, there were 10 to 14 car bombings a day in Baghdad and this year one to four.

Most of the fighting is centered in Baghdad, and since most media are in the capital they provide a slanted picture of Iraq's situation, Talabani said.

"The media is only focusing on the negative and exaggerating it," he said.

"We cannot tolerate more interference of our neighbors," he said at another point, with evident anger.

Talabani also denounced as "a big lie" a report last week by Manfred Nowak, the U.N. special investigator on torture, that torture in Iraq may be worse than it was under Saddam Hussein, with militias, terror groups and government forces disregarding rules on the humane treatment of prisoners.

Talabani said Iraq's constitution provides human-rights safeguards.
On Capitol Hill, meanwhile, Talabani told a group of six senators that setting a deadline for withdrawal of U.S. troops would be a tragedy for Iraq as it works to build its military and police forces, Sen. Joe Lieberman, D-Conn., said in a conference call with reporters.

Pulling out now would "encourage the militias and the enemies of a free and independent and unified Iraq," Lieberman quoted Talabani as saying.

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/world/4216141.html
[/quote]

But but I thought the Iraqi's wanted us gone? I though security was worse now than ever? I could have sworn torture was worse than with Saddam? I though the U.S. presence was part of the problem? I thought that Talabani was aligning with Syria and Iran? Civil War etc etc!!!!!!

My life has lost all meaning and the world no longer makes sense if I can't trust Democrats who have never even been to Iraq and the MSM who haven't left the green zone then who the hell can I trust?

 

[Iriemon]

....

My life has lost all meaning and the world no longer makes sense if I can't trust Democrats who have never even been to Iraq and the MSM who haven't left the green zone then who the hell can I trust?

But you are trusting the statement of the US-approved Iraqi president for an accurate and reliable description? I wonder if he has checked out the Bahgdad morgue lately.

 

[ProudAmerican]

You are relying on the statement of the US-approved Iraqi president for an accurate and reliable description?

definately no stranger than relying on someone that has never been in country.

 

[Captain America]

I will lay a twenty down, right now, as a donation to this site, above and beyond my usual donations to the coffer, if Iraq doesn't go into a civil war.

Hell, they are already in a civil war. Hello? McFly?

How many dead Sunni's vs. Shietes? Lst month? Last week? Today?

I don't know how else one would define a civil war.

 

[Iriemon]

definately no stranger than relying on someone that has never been in country.

I wouldn't rely on such a person either.

 

[Captain America]

I wouldn't rely on such a person either.

Well, I've never been to Spain.:3oops:




But I kinda like the music..

 

[Trajan Octavian Titus]

But you are trusting the statement of the US-approved Iraqi president.

Actually he is the Iraqi-approved Iraqi president, you know those elections that they had there.

 

[Billo_Really]

Originally Posted by ProudAmerican
definately no stranger than relying on someone that has never been in country.

You want to here from someone inside that country? OK, here you go...

A view of life outside the U.S.-controlled Green Zone
By Naseer al-Zubaidi Azzaman, August 5, 2006

All over the world people have the chance to give their dead a proper burial but in Iraq. Iraq is perhaps the only country in the world where the dead are denied this privilege. But the dead are not the only ones who suffer. Iraqis who are still alive fare no better.

We who are still alive lack the basic means of living. We enjoy no stability. There are no public services. We enjoy none of the amenities which people across the world take for granted. Therefore the Iraqi people are closer to death than life. We can safely say Iraqis are walking shadows. They are dead but still can use their legs to walk and their lungs to breathe.

Walking and breathing are no longer a blessing for Iraqis. If they walk, they will most probably end up victims of a car bomb attack, a stray or deliberate bullet from a passing U.S. convoy or hostages of a murderous criminal gang. If they walk, they will most probably run into a check point manned by murderous militias. They will have no chance to survive if the militia men discover they are members of the opposite sect.

Breathing fresh air is no longer a pleasure in Iraq because simply there is no more fresh air to breathe. All over Baghdad it is the smell of death, explosions, car bomb attacks, raids and bombing that fills the air. Some might say that I am a real pessimist for depicting such a gloomy picture of conditions in Iraq. They may be right. And I fully understand their attitude and know exactly what they have in mind. They are certainly referring to the few Iraqis who live together with their U.S. masters in the Green Zone in Baghdad which the U.S. occupiers have ringed with massive anti-blast walls. This zone, created by U.S. marines following their invasion of the country, is the only spot in Iraq which is relatively safe and secure. U.S. administrators and their Iraqi lackeys who run the country rarely venture outside this zone which the U.S. has turned into something like a citadel of reinforced concrete with several security barriers.

It is tragic to see that those supposedly working for the welfare of the Iraqi people, planning its future and laying down the foundations of a ‘new Iraq’ are so concerned bout their own safety and well-being at a time the whole country is burning.

The zone the U.S. has created in Baghdad to protect its administrators and Iraqi lackeys is the prison which the U.S. has built for itself in the country. Those working, sleeping, drinking, eating, swimming and playing golf in the zone have become the enemies of the Iraqi people.

If they want to leave, they will need a helicopter because they do not belong to the people outside the zone. Those inside the zone know they are unwanted by the people outside the zone. For this reason they do not feel secure among the people they claim to serve and love.

These are our governing elites – the U.S. and its lackeys – who have practically lost all contact with the people they are supposed to serve.

 

[Trajan Octavian Titus]

You want to here from someone inside that country? OK, here you go...

Pure Jihadist propaganda.

 

[ProudAmerican]

I have a hard time figuring out why people who obviously care about Iraqi civilians want so desperately to see the country fall into civil war.

partisan politics makes some folks act awfully strange.

 

[Captain America]

Love means never having to say you're sorry.:roll:

 

[Kandahar]

I have a hard time figuring out why people who obviously care about Iraqi civilians want so desperately to see the country fall into civil war.

partisan politics makes some folks act awfully strange.

It's not a question of WANTING Iraq to fall into civil war. It's a question of whether or not American troops should be there when it inevitably happens. And it's a question of whether or not Iraq is really the most pressing security concern for the United States.

 

[ProudAmerican]

It's not a question of WANTING Iraq to fall into civil war. It's a question of whether or not American troops should be there when it inevitably happens. And it's a question of whether or not Iraq is really the most pressing security concern for the United States.

you want to make it inevitable, by removing the troops.

IMO we should be sending more troops in to make sure it doesnt happen, so these people have the best possible chance at democracy.

 

[Captain America]

you want to make it inevitable, by removing the troops.

IMO we should be sending more troops in to make sure it doesnt happen, so these people have the best possible chance at democracy.

I admire your optimism PA. I really do.

But believe me. This ain't no rep/dem thing. This is me, talkin' to you.....

True, if we pull out now, all hell will break loose and all our efforts would have been for naught.

If we pull out in 5 years, all hell will break loose and all our efforts would have been for naught.

If we pull out in 10 years, all hell will break loose and all our efforts would have been for naught.

Starting to get what I'm sayin'?

Now, let's think it through.

If we pull out now, all hell breaks loose.

If we pull out in five years, 4000 American lives, 160,000 Iraqi lives and billions of dollars later, all hell breaks loose.

Wadda ya think bro?

Only one thing is for sure. All hell is gonna break loose there sooner or later. It already has. They are tired on waiting for us to leave.

 

[ProudAmerican]

True, if we pull out now, all hell will break loose and all our efforts would have been for naught.

agreed.

If we pull out in 5 years, all hell will break loose and all our efforts would have been for naught.

youre starting to lose me.

If we pull out in 10 years, all hell will break loose and all our efforts would have been for naught.

losing me even more.

however, I am bi partisan enough to say I am willing to say that 3 to 5 more years is enough. If we dont have success by then, we should probably consider it a lost cause.

I dont believe we have enough troops there at the moment to do the job correctly though.

you definately make it hard to argue though.

throw in a "bush lied kids died" or a "Bush intentionally misled us into this war that has nothing to do with terrorisms" next time so I dont have to stop, and think so rationally will ya?

 

[Captain America]

Sorry man. But homey don't play dat sheot. :rofl

man, I just calls em like I see 'em. Neither the GOP or the Dems care about me so why should I care about either of them?

 

[ALiberalModerate]

Actually he is the Iraqi-approved Iraqi president, you know those elections that they had there.

Are you on the administration's payroll or something? Of course Talabani says that Iraq won't have a Civil War. The man is a politician, the president of Iraq, what do you think he will say: "Everything has went all to hell, a Civil War is a certainty"? I mean come on.

 

[Trajan Octavian Titus]

Are you on the administration's payroll or something? Of course Talabani says that Iraq won't have a Civil War. The man is a politician, the president of Iraq, what do you think he will say: "Everything has went all to hell, a Civil War is a certainty"? I mean come on.

Well I think I'll take the word of the Iraqi President who (you know) lives in Iraq over your opinion any day of the week and the following is kind of the thrust of his and my argument as it is the argument of the recently declassified portions of the NIE:

Talabani said Iraq's constitution provides human-rights safeguards.
On Capitol Hill, meanwhile, Talabani told a group of six senators that setting a deadline for withdrawal of U.S. troops would be a tragedy for Iraq as it works to build its military and police forces, Sen. Joe Lieberman, D-Conn., said in a conference call with reporters.

Pulling out now would "encourage the militias and the enemies of a free and independent and unified Iraq," Lieberman quoted Talabani as saying.

The portions of the NIE that the NYT's didn't tell you about:

Should jihadists leaving Iraq perceive themselves to have failed we judge fewer fighters will be inspired to carry on the fight.

We assess that the Iraq jihad is shaping a new generation of terrorist leaders and operatives; perceived jihadist success there would inspire more fighters to continue the struggle elsewhere.

If Democratic reform efforts in Muslim majority nations progress over the next five years political participation probably would drive a wedge between intransigent extremists and groups willing to use the political process to achieve their local objectives.

The jihadists greatest vulnerability is that their ultimate political solution-an ultra-conservative interpretation of shari’a- based governance spanning the Muslim world is unpopular with the vast majority of Muslims. Exposing the religious and political straitjacket that is implied by the jihadists’ propaganda would help to divide them from the audience they seek to persuade.

United States-led counterterrorism efforts have seriously damaged the leadership of al-Qa’ida and disrupted it’s operations.

We assess that the global jihadist movement is decentralized, lacks a coherent global strategy, and is becoming more diffuse.

http://www.dni.gov/press_releases/De..._Judgments.pdf

 

[Kandahar]

Well I think I'll take the word of the Iraqi President who (you know) lives in Iraq

And what about the opinions of people who live in Iraq and disagree with him? Do you just dismiss them all as "jihadist propaganda"?

over your opinion any day of the week

Well, no one on this thread (that I know of) is representing the official government position...except possibly you.

Politicians aren't likely to give you an unbiased assessment of the facts on the ground. Under what set of circumstances do you think Talabani would admit that his country descended into civil war on his watch?

 

[Trajan Octavian Titus]

And what about the opinions of people who live in Iraq and disagree with him? Do you just dismiss them all as "jihadist propaganda"?

No but what Billo posted obviously was and for the record the majority of Iraq must agree with him, because they did elect him as President.

Well, no one on this thread (that I know of) is representing the official government position...except possibly you.

Politicians aren't likely to give you an unbiased assessment of the facts on the ground. Under what set of circumstances do you think Talabani would admit that his country descended into civil war on his watch?

Like I said the thrust of the argument is that pulling out of Iraq would be a mistake and that the media isn't giving an accurate portrayal of the ground situation there.