Bush says 'a free Iraq' will signal end of US mission

[maddezmom]

WASHINGTON (AFP) - US President George W. Bush (news - web sites) has refused to outline a specific scenario for a possible US withdrawal from Iraq (news - web sites), saying the emergence of freedom in the violence-torn country will signal the end of the US mission.


The comments, made in an exclusive interview broadcast by NBC News late Sunday, came amid mounting international pressure to step up efforts to restore Iraqi sovereignty and lay the groundwork for a gradual drawdown of US forces.

~snip~

But Bush insisted a new civil society in Iraq will dramatically reshape the Middle East reducing the threat of terrorism -- and declined to give even an approximate date when a US pullout could begin.


"And the end is a free Iraq," Bush stated. "I'm not going to pick a timetable."

~snip~
more: http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=1511&ncid=1511&e=7&u=/afp/20040607/wl_afp/us_iraq_bush_040607112354

Pat Roberts refers to restraining from US messianic instincts !!!!

[Cannikin]

1. Free Iraq= U.S. run puppet show.

[maddezmom]

2. as per the chimp - "It also means installing governments ......

<<It also means installing governments that don't necessarily look like America," Bush stressed.>>

sounds like democracy in action...:eyes:

[cliss]

16. My thoughts exactly.

Did you read that thread (I think it was up yesterday).

I was so angry, I had black smoke coming out of my ears. "Install governments, my ass".

[mom cat]

14. And corporations free to plunder, troops free to massacre and

the rest of us paying the bill. "Free". Oh how the definition of that word has changed.

[markses]

3. Mission Accomplished, Part 2

It all depends on what your definition of "accomplished" - er - is...

And the bodies pile up, and the bodies pile up, and the bodies pile up.

[Bozita]

9. Exactly. Think they can update the banner from the carrier?

You know, the one "made by the sailors" on board.

[lebkuchen]

4. When does the US get its freedom back again?

due process and all that other misc. stuff?

[0007]

17. Only freedom loving people are gonna get freedom

....and those Iraqis are freedom loving people.

Building 14 military installations so we can protect those freedom loving folks.

[dusty64]

5. Oh brother.

:crazy:

[rpannier]

6. Will He Get ON An Aircraft

in that dorky bombers outfit with "Mission Accomplished" sign behind him when the transition is made?
God, I hope so.

[Fovea]

7. Are they free to nationalize their oil?

If not, are they free?

[amber dog democrat]

8. Well then we can never leave Iraq

The puppet governments we help to install will always need to be protected from the people of Iraq. As long as we are there Iraq has no voice in its own affairs.
Does Iraq even have expectations of being democratically led.... do we?

[KittyWampus]

10. No Timetable? Then Our Military Is At Grave Risk STILL.

we can't expect our troops to just "play it by ear".

They need a Commander in Chief who has a plan of action to get the political situation stablized and our troops the heck out of harms way.

Junior's complete failure to come up with an overarching political plan and stick to it proves he and his War Cabinet have NO INTENT of leaving Iraq or getting the region stablized.

Or rather, it proves perhaps the plan is to INTENTIONALLY KEEP THINGS IN CHAOS.

[Tracer]

11. Coming from his piehole, "freedom" ...

... sounds like a bad word.

[whosinpower]

12. Puppet governments

There is nothing "free" about that.

Iraq will be free just so long as it maintains a democracy that favors the USA. Iraq will be totally independant just so long as the oil gets sold to the USA....and at a price determined by the USA...and this money will go to pay for reconstruction of the nation.....in part to US companies after the US military destroyed critical infrastructure.

However, should a voice emerge that dissents against this "freedom", that voice is marginalized, villified, hunted down, and silenced via shutting down newpapers to any who speak ill about the occupation or the CPA.

[Nancy Waterman]

13. Boondocks explains it all today

[Dover]

15. Yeah, I'm sure the Iraqis will buy that.......

NOT! I don't buy it either.

[phoebe]

18. very doubtful as Negroponte will be running the show.

Negroponte learnt his craft from Kissinger which says much about the tactics he will employ in Iraq. His role in Iran/Contra, Nicaragua and El Salvador showcase the lengths that he is prepared to go to in order to achieve "results".

[DFWJock]

19. Will there be

dancing in the streets and flowers thrown at the (exiting) soldiers?

[peterh]

20. is this a bushism???

How can Iraq ever be really free as long as the US is there? Is this another way of saying that we’re never leaving? :eyes:

heck...we're not even giving them veto power on military operations…


UNITED NATIONS (AP)--The U.S. and U.K. submitted a new draft of a resolution
on Iraq to the U.N. Monday that promises "close coordination" between
multinational forces and the interim Iraqi government, but not an Iraqi veto
over military action.
The revised draft - the fourth in two weeks - was sent to the 15
member-nations of the Security Council, and the U.S. was hoping for a vote on
Tuesday, a council diplomat said.
It adds a paragraph recognizing "the importance of the consent of the
sovereign government of Iraq for the presence of the multinational force and of
close coordination between the multinational force and that government,"
according to a copy obtained by The Associated Press.

[Cocoa]

21. I thought they were free now

I thought the "liberation" phase was over.

[Walt Starr]

22. Which, when read literally, means the U.S. will NEVER leave

and the Iraqi people will NEVER be free.

[Village Idiot]

23. A "free" Iraq

is only the first stage...watch what happens North of Iraq in the next 12-24 months...all that Caspian Oil & Gas...and US companies own something like 75% of the drilling rights...hmmmm...looks like they will be well situated to protect their energy interests for some time...

[Kolesar]

24. IOW, Iraq will not be truly free until the US withdraws

There is an irony to this statement. A yin and a yang. From where does freedom spring? When your country is not occupied.