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I had caught a portion of the briefing today and I was immdeiately struck by how many times he used the phrase "moving forward" IRT Iraq and the Council's inability to agree on anything today.
I think the term "moving forward" is about the emptiest rhetoric they systematically use when they know they're fucked and things are not going their way. To wit:
"MR. McCLELLAN: Well, we're seeing that the Iraqi leaders are moving forward on this new phase in Iraq. They're now in a phase of moving forward on the political process. These are leaders that were chosen by the Iraqi people. They are committed to moving forward on the political process. The national assembly met for the second time today. That's another step on the path to a free society, as the President talked about earlier today.
We look forward to working with the new government once it is in place. We expect that's going to happen soon. I think any time you have a democracy, on issues like this there is going to be time -- it's going to take some time to forge a consensus and to reach a compromise. And that's what you're seeing happening in Iraq. But the Iraqi people are determined to live in freedom. And the Iraqi leaders are working to reach a consensus. And you're seeing compromise, which is always part of any democracy, move forward. We expect that they will have a new government in place soon.
Q I take it, then, the time frame doesn't trouble you?
Q How do you call it "moving forward"?
MR. McCLELLAN: Well, this is the second meeting of the national assembly. The fact that they have met for the second time is another step on the path to democracy. That's a positive development. These are leaders that were elected by the Iraqi people. The Iraqi people are determining their future. I don't know that they set any specific time frame for putting that new government in place -- obviously, they want to get it in place as quickly as possible, and they're working to do that. There's a lot of discussion going on between the various coalitions and parties in Iraq, and they're working to move forward on that political process so that they can move forward on drafting a constitution and putting that constitution before the people, and then move forward on permanent elections. The fact that they had elections and have chosen an assembly of 275 representatives is a very positive development.
Q If I could follow that, the time they take here in choosing a new government comes out of the time they theoretically have to draft the constitution. So, once again, I will ask you, is the President concerned that they don't seem to be moving as fast as some members of the Iraqi parliament think they should?
MR. McCLELLAN: No, I think you heard from him earlier today -- it's going to be an Iraqi-driven process. The Iraqi leaders are determining their future, and they're working to reach a compromise. This is part of moving forward on the political process and coming to an agreement, and they're continuing to have those discussions and that's a healthy part of democracy. And we believe that they will have a new government in place soon, and we're going to do everything we can to support that new government as they work to draft a new constitution, and as they work to move forward on elections for a permanent government. This is a transitional government, but it is a government that has been chosen by the Iraqi people and they're representing the views of the Iraqi people, and they're trying to reach a compromise now. "
Yada yada yada blah blah blah . . move forward make progress bunchabullshit.
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