War of the Words

You might have missed this quote from Iraqi Vice President Adel Abdul Mahdi last weekend:

The United States and coalition forces will likely reduce the number of troops in Iraq next year, Iraqi Vice President Adel Abdul Mahdi said on Saturday.
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"I've discussed the pullout possibilities with Secretary Rumsfeld and we agree on the future course. We are optimistic about the buildup of Iraqi forces to cope with the situation," he said.

"We have been preparing ourselves, politically, for a pullout of the troops. We have a very solid political situation and we don't want to have a security vacuum of any kind," Mahdi added.

Likewise President of Iraq Jalal Talabani's comments in Britain this week received scant notice:

British troops could leave Iraq by the end of next year, Iraqi President Jalal Talabani said on Sunday. “We don’t want British forces forever in Iraq. Within one year – I think at the end of 2006 – Iraqi troops will be ready to replace British forces in the South,” Talabani told ITV’s Jonathan Dimbleby program.

Talabani also said, however, that an immediate withdrawal of foreign forces would be a “catastrophe” for Iraq and would lead to civil war. Iraqis are working on training their own soldiers and police to take full control of security of their country and fight a Sunni Arab insurgency that has killed thousands of people since 2003’s US-led invasion.

I believe before the Iraqi elections, scheduled for mid December, the Iraqi people and the emerging government must be put on notice that the United States will immediately redeploy.
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Our military has done everything that has been asked of them, the U.S. can not accomplish anything further in Iraq militarily. IT IS TIME TO BRING THEM HOME.

Meanwhile, according to the AP, Bill Clinton also has a message for the world:

Former President Clinton told Arab students Wednesday the United States made a "big mistake" when it invaded Iraq, stoking the partisan debate back home over the war.
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"Saddam is gone. It's a good thing, but I don't agree with what was done," Clinton told students at a forum at the American University of Dubai.

The world without Saddam is not only better place for the Iraqis but for the whole world. Those who are fighting the changes towards democracy in Iraq are Al-Qaeda terrorists and the other extremists and their supporters in Syria. BC is no different from them. BC certainly failed to remove Saddam and failed to prevent the terrorists but was successful in killing more Iraqis by his rockets and by Saddam hands. BC is a supporter of the dictator regimes in the Middle East indeed.

Of course, what quotes like these really remind us is that the first Wednesday in November is the traditional day when certain politicians stop pretending to be "moderate" and start seriously pandering to the base. Further clarification of their positions (what they "really meant", or apologies for being "tricked") can come later - for now the campaign funds need replenishment, fast, and consequences be damned.

There is a difference this year - those words will be noted worldwide, and remembered.

Speaking of remembering, Here's a notable quote from Iraqi blogger Alaa, from immediately prior to last January's elections there:

Moreover, no one should expect that the security situation and strife would somehow improve after the elections; it is more likely to intensify. This is an unfinished war; the Saddamists and their allies have fully regrouped and rearmed and are being very well financed and supported. The brave American people have given President Bush the mandate to finish this war despite the painful sacrifices and material cost. The Iraqi people are up in arms through the political groupings, new army, N.G. and various security forces and are suffering the greater part of the sacrifice. Despite all the snags and faltering, these forces are getting bigger and stronger and should be supported and nurtured until they can bear the full responsibility; this is the only viable "exit strategy" available. In fact, we do not like this phrase, for what is required is a "victory strategy". This war must be fought to the bitter end, and there is only one outcome acceptable both to us and to you: Total and Complete Victory. Anything else is completely unthinkable.