LAT: Heady U.S. Goals for Iraq Fall by Wayside

[RamboLiberal]

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/iraq/la-fg-goals27sep27,1,6373471,print.story?coll=la-home-headlines

Despite continuing violence and instability, President Bush has stuck doggedly to his central message on Iraq: There is no need to change course because the administration's plan for planting democracy in the Middle East is working.

Yet behind the unwavering public posture, there is evidence that the Bush administration has altered its approach. It has lowered its hopes for the type of democracy that can be achieved, changed course on its plans to privatize Iraq's economy and reordered its priorities by devoting more money to improving security as fast as possible.

Gone — at least for now — is the lofty ideal of Iraq serving as a free-market democratic model that would ignite the forces of change throughout the Middle East and lay the seeds of a settlement to the Arab-Israeli conflict.

Rep. Jim Kolbe (R-Ariz.), chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, said administration officials have told him privately that they have lowered their expectations. "They've definitely recalibrated their goals," he said. "One of them told me: 'When we went in there, I thought we would build American-style democracy. Hell, I'd be happy with Romanian-style democracy now.' "

[oldhat]

1. Mission accomplished!

[tibbir]

4. This is absolutely too funny, but sad.

I just sent a copy to some friends I think will also appreciate it (and a few that should).

[oldhat]

5. Another

[Fovea]

2. But what we will have to settle for now

is a Bosnia on the Euphrates.

This whole debacle has been criminal, in the International War Crimes Tribunal sense of the word.

[WannaJumpMyScooter]

3. Flip-Flop

[Journeyman]

6. Can anyone name any nation that has 'American-style democracy'?. . .

I believe Costa Rica has a government similar to ours. But no other nation has it, to my knowledge. What's that say about the unique nature of our history

[Wright Patman]

10. Not even America

has an American-style democracy anymore. All you need to do is look at the events of Nov.-Dec. 2000 to see that.

[demoman123]

7. The entire article is a must-read. Here's a bit more:

Bush and Iraqi interim Prime Minister Iyad Allawi, who visited the United States last week, said voting for a national assembly would go ahead as scheduled in January.

Days earlier, however, administration officials dealing with Iraq appeared resigned to a delay. "The way things are going, the fact that the U.N. has not come forward with its support means we may have to settle for the spring," said a State Department official who declined to be named.

The official indicated that initial timetables had called for thousands of United Nations election workers to be deployed around the country by this time, registering voters, setting up polling stations and training Iraqis to staff them.

Friday, a U.N. spokesman in New York said just eight non-Iraqi staff members were in the country preparing for the balloting and that no significant buildup would begin until a military force assigned to protect election workers was in place.

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/iraq/la-fg-goals27sep27,1,6373471,print.story?coll=la-home-headlines

[leftchick]

8. "heady"? more like INSANE!

everything they have planned has been insane!

[shockingelk]

9. Paul Wolfowitz will take over Liddy's radio show in a decade

He'll say everything was going exactly as they wanted until Kerry changed the plan, it was Kerry's fault they thought they'd find WMD ...

[natrat]

11. arrogant idiots

didnt bother to study history or listen to any view aside from there own. I keep thinking as time goes by people become savvier, i guess not. My 6 year old could have come up with something a little better.

[daleo]

12. They have lowered their goals

Regrettably, it is down to stealing the oil now.