Bush: It's not a Civil War. It's "extremists trying to defeat the emergence of a young democracy."

[Human Torch]

Nov. 28: President Bush, left, walks with Estonian President Toomas Hendrik Ilves before a news conference at the National Bank of Estonia in Tallinn, Estonia.

RIGA, Latvia — President Bush said Tuesday that an Al Qaeda plot to stoke cycles of sectarian revenge in Iraq is to blame for escalating bloodshed, refusing to debate whether the country has fallen into civil war. "There's a lot of sectarian violence taking place — fomented, in my opinion, because of the attacks by Al Qaeda causing people to seek reprisal," Bush said at a news conference with Estonian President Toomas Hendrik Ilves during a stop in Estonia. He arrived later at the NATO summit in neighboring Latvia, where discussion will focus on the battle against insurgents in Afghanistan.

Bush, who travels to Jordan later in the week for a summit with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, said the latest surge of violence in Iraq does not represent a new era. "We've been in this phase for a while," he said. Iraq is reeling from the deadliest week of sectarian fighting since the war began in March 2003. Bush, dating the current spike in violence to a February bombing of a sacred Shiite shrine in Samarra that triggered reprisal attacks between Shiites and Sunnis and raised fears of civil war, said he will ask al-Maliki to explain his plan for quelling the violence.

"When you see a young democracy beginning to emerge in the Middle East, the extremists try to defeat its emergence," Bush said. "Extremists attack because they can't stand the thought of a democracy. And the same thing is happening in Iraq."

Iran, the top U.S. rival in the region, has reached out to Iraq and Syria in recent days — an attempt viewed as a bid to assert its role as a powerbroker in Iraq. But Bush expressed reluctance to talk with two nations, which his administration regards as pariah states working to destabilize the Middle East. He added that the U.S. will only deal with Iran when they suspend their program of enriching uranium, which could be used in a nuclear weapon arsenal. "The Iranians and the Syrians should help — not destabilize — this young democracy," he said. Iran's state-run television, however, quoted Iraqi President Jalal Talabani as saying: "We are in dire need of Iran's help in establishing security and stability in Iraq." The comments came after Talabani met Monday with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in Tehran.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,232257,00.html

[BOSSHOG]

1. The conditions in Iraq

are george bush and his supporters fault. The "christians" in America who want to send our kids into harms' way to kill, kill, kill. To force politics and religion on other people. And you can bet none of these bastards will either enlist or take responsibility for the devastation they have brought on this earth in the name of Jesus Christ.

[kenny blankenship]

2. His fitness for office should be openly questioned at this point

If he even partially believes what he's saying he's not sane.
Either he steps aside or he should be removed.

[Raster]

5. No shit. Talk about being in a state of denial and out of touch with reality...

There is no question in my mind. George W. Bush* was NEVER qualified for this position. The hallmark of his pResidency will be one of the biggest fuck ups--diplomatically, politically, militarily--this country has ever seen. His refusal to grasp the gravity of the situation in Iraq is beyond the pale.

[indepat]

3. Words emanating from the mouth of the uniter and decider are becoming bizarrer by the day

:shrug:

[Joe Bacon]

4. Clap Harder, President Peter Pan, CLAP HARDER!

That's right, snort your fairy dust and clap harder and Tinkerbelle Cheney will make everything all right!

[Human Torch]

6. Raw Story's running an interesting Cheney story this morning:

Are Cheney's days numbered? Analyst claims influence waning

RAW STORY
Published: Tuesday November 28, 2006

http://www.rawstory.com/news/2006/Are_Cheneys_days_numbered_Analyst_claims_1128.html



A senior columnist for the inside-the-beltway publication Congressional Quarterly speculated on MSNBC's Hardball this afternoon that Vice President Richard B. Cheney may be the next to exit the Bush Administration, a report first caught by ThinkProgress. ThinkProgress has the video here.

Speculation that Cheney could depart the White House has been rampant, and the claim by CQ political analyst Craig Crawford could be yet another 'crying wolf' in the Washington political scene. Still, in lieu of the depature of Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, and the continuing ostracization of Administration neoconservatives, the possibility isn't beyond the pale.

Excerpts from ThinkProgress' transcript:

CRAWFORD: I still wonder if he stays in this administration for the full term here. I really wonder if Rumsfeld’s leaving is just the beginning.

MATTHEWS: Well, who is showing up with the Ryder truck at his home. Who’s gonna get him out?

CRAWFORD: He has to make the choice himself. He can’t be fired, technically, under the Constitution.

MATTHEWS: Why would he leave?...

CRAWFORD: My point is I don’t know why he’d want to stick around.

MATTHEWS: He has assumed an awful lot of authority under this President.

CRAWFORD: I know, and that authority is waning, if not gone. And my point is why would he want to stick around in this environment? He might just choose to leave.

MATTHEWS: Let me check this. I rarely do this on the show. Are you teasing? Are you — do you actually think there’s a reasonable plausible case for this Vice President to give up all the power he enjoys as the President’s first counsel?

CRAWFORD: Not if he doesn’t enjoy it anymore. I mean all I’m seeing is the man getting isolated more and more. This seems to be his most vulnerable position in the entire Bush administration.

[aquart]

7. Who is Crawford and how often is he right?

Because this sounds like utter crap to me. Cheney doesn't have to do a damn thing but canned hunts for the next two years. Why quit?

[Human Torch]

8. Crawford's blog:

http://www.crawfordslist.com/

...but I agree with the concept of the story as utter crap. There's no way that he'd hand the keys to the car to Junior, regardless of his "waning influence."

:patriot:

[unpossibles]

9. the thread title reminds me of my late grandfather's view of the US civil war

it was the second American Revolution (and "we" lost).


:eyes:

[rateyes]

10. Goodness gracious, his alma mater must be

oh so proud to name that dumbass as one of their illustrious alums!