Neweek claims Bush is contingency planning in case of Iraq civil war

[ProSense]

Exclusive: Iraq—Plans in Case of a Civil War

Newsweek

Aug. 14, 2006 issue - The Bush administration insists Iraq is a long way from civil war, but the contingency planning has already begun inside the White House and the Pentagon. President Bush will move U.S. troops out of Iraq if the country descends into civil war, according to one senior Bush aide who declined to be named while talking about internal strategy. "If there's a full-blown civil war, the president isn't going to allow our forces to be caught in the crossfire," the aide said. "But institutionally, the government of Iraq isn't breaking down. It's still a unity government." Bush's position on a pullout of U.S. troops emerged in response to news-week's questions about Sen. John Warner, chairman of the Armed Services Committee. Warner warned last week that the president might require a new vote from Congress to allow troops to stay in Iraq in what he called "all-out civil war." But the senior Bush aide said the White House would need no prompting from Congress to get troops out "if the Iraqi government broke down completely along sectarian lines."

The White House prefers to focus on the more positive aspects of last week's testimony from Gen. John Abizaid, commander of U.S. forces in the Middle East, and Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. The generals gave a bleak assessment of the sectarian violence, but added that civil war was only a possibility, not a probability. In fact, the U.S. military in Iraq has completed several elements of contingency planning in case of civil war, based on lessons learned from Bosnia and Kosovo. The military's approach revolves around three principles. The first is to stop massacres by physically separating communities, moving minorities out of harm's way if necessary. The second is to stop the flow of paramilitary gangs across the country. And the third is to halt any incitement to violence on Iraqi TV and radio. Baghdad would pose the biggest problem, requiring a strict curfew and a ban on road traffic. The security measures would include widespread checkpoints and a ban on carrying firearms or explosives.

The administration hasn't made its definition of full-blown civil war explicit. But in March, when Iraq's former prime minister Ayad Allawi said the country was already fighting a civil war, Bush disagreed, noting the existence of Iraq's nonsectarian Army and government. If the country did someday meet the definition of civil war and the U.S. pulled out, military officials warn, the consequences would be disastrous. "All the neighboring powers would be drawn in," said one senior military official who has examined the scenarios and is not authorized to speak on the record. "It would become a regional war."

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/14206642

[MADem]

1. IN CASE OF??????

That's like a little kid "contingency planning" what footie PJs they plan on wearing "IN CASE OF" the sun going down, night falling, and the child being advised that it is bed time.

[Mz Pip]

2. Just now getting around to that???

There should have been plans for this from day one. But then BushCo has been a day late and a dollar short on every aspect of this fiasco. Going in in the first place was the first mistake of many.

Mz Pip
:dem:

[MADem]

4. The last sentence says it all, this shit is, indeed, DIRE

If the country did someday meet the definition of civil war and the U.S. pulled out, military officials warn, the consequences would be disastrous. "All the neighboring powers would be drawn in," said one senior military official who has examined the scenarios and is not authorized to speak on the record. "It would become a regional war."

Welcome to a 21st Century Nightmare....brought to you by an unelected Monkey.

[wtmusic]

3. He's not going to "allow our troops to get caught in the crossfire"

Bit late for that, Junior...

[Drum]

5. They're nervous and worried

about their precious Embassy City, the so-called "Green" Zone, and their close buddies in the energy and contracting businesses, who are banking on future control of Iraq's oil.

edit to add: Would civil war nullify those Big Oil contracts...force majeur, Act-of-God clauses, something like that? Anybody?

[walkon]

6. There are no contingency

plans. Everything is going according to their plan in Iraq and the M.E. This is politics - an attempt to assure the public that what is happening is not the plan and it can all be fixed by the very people, now in office, who are running the current plan. See?

[Tin Man]

7. See? It's not civil war as long as Iraqi govt can convene in GreenZone

Sheesh... Bush must secretly be PlasticMan from the Fantastic Four comics - while his feet are in Washington, his head is buried in the sands of Iraq. Pretty neat trick.

[BlueEyedSon]

8. "Bush" and "planning" in the same sentence? Whoa!

:)

[chieftain]

9. I've said all along that we would have to fight our way out.

What has been a humanitarian and geopolitical disaster of epic proportions, could degenerate into a military debacle on a scale that this country has never seen. The same people that brought us into this perilous state are charged with getting us out safely. The military better be making its own plans on how to get out without any input from Rummy and the ship of fools that is the civilian leadership at the Pentagon.

[Vidar]

10. How's the contingency planning for Katrina since we're in

ex post facto mode?

[ProSense]

11. Bush's Middle East Strategery: For Toddlers

Bush's Middle East Strategery: For Toddlers

[gulliver]

12. Comes right from the White House ("senior Bush aide")

Bush/Rove Message: There isn't a civil war and may not be. We are "planning" for it, because it isn't happening now. See? Also, remember we are planning. If a civil war breaks out, we planned for it.

The key point: "The administration hasn't made its definition of full-blown civil war explicit." They know their definition would not hold up, so they don't define it. It's what they say it is when they decide to say it.

[Richard Steele]

13. Next week, they start contingency plans for a hurricane in New Orleans.

Not that they actually believe such a thing would ever HAPPEN, mind you.