NYT/Reuters: Bush Meets Members of Group on Iraq

[DeepModem Mom]

Bush Meets Members of Group on Iraq
By REUTERS
Published: November 13, 2006

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Bush, under pressure from Democrats to change course in Iraq, sat down on Monday with members of a group charged with coming up with recommendations on how to bring peace to Iraq.

Bush met with the two chairmen of the Iraq Study Group, former Secretary of State James Baker, a Republican with close ties to the Bush family, and former Democratic Rep. Lee Hamilton of Indiana.

The group is working toward presenting its final report to Bush and the U.S. Congress next month....

On Monday the panel was expected to gather the views of Bush, Vice President Dick Cheney and Stephen Hadley, the White House national security adviser.

One approach reportedly considered by that panel was for Washington to open a dialogue with Iran and Syria, accused by the Bush administration of supporting terrorism and fanning instability in neighboring Iraq.

The White House has been cool to such a move....

http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/washington/politics-iraq-usa.html

[Turbineguy]

1. Looks like they are already hard at work

behind the scenes. Hamas was announcing a plan to start negotiating with Israel yesterday.

If that Iranian and Saudi money dries up, who knows?

Of course they still have to explain the whole idea to junior. Maybe a comic book will work.

[ECH1969]

2. Bush not keen on Iranian, Syrian help in Iraq

United States President George W Bush, searching for a new approach in Iraq, has expressed little enthusiasm for seeking Syrian and Iranian help to calm Iraq as he also cautioned Democrats against quick US troop reductions.

Mr Bush, who has stated a need for "fresh perspectives" on Iraq after his Republican Party received a drubbing in last week's midterm congressional elections, met at the White House on Monday with the bipartisan Iraq Study Group, whose report in a month could offer him a change of course in Iraq.

Unrelenting violence in Iraq has added to the pressure on Mr Bush. Through Monday night, Baghdad reported one of the highest tolls of suspected sectarian deaths in recent weeks, with the bodies of 46 people recovered, an Interior Ministry source said. A suicide bomb killed 11 Iraqis on a minibus and at least nine US and British troops were reported killed in the previous two days.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200611/s1787692.htm

[fooj]

3. And this surprises WHO?

I read that Little Lord Pissypants is calling for the world to ISOLATE Iran. Sounds like he is working well with the ISG. :rofl:

[truthisfreedom]

4. "not keen"... sounds like they're preparing us for a "softening of the bush".

our fearless leader is now little more than a hapless grumbler checked into treatment by daddy.

[billyoc]

5. Also, note the use of the phrase:

"he also cautioned Democrats against quick US troop reductions.", rather than re-announcing that the troop withdrawal would be up to "future presidents".

* isn't in charge anymore.

[truthisfreedom]

6. it's because the people who are really in power are in full damage-control mode now.

they have so much to lose when the Democratic Congress begins looking at all of the war profiteering and theft of the US Treasury.

[ixion]

7. considering what he considers 'keen' are actually War Crimes

I don't really care what he considers 'keen' or not. I think it's pretty well proven that what * considers 'keen' is disastrous for the rest of the world.

[rocktivity]

8. Candidate for this month's "You Call This NEWS?" award

And in a related story: Iraq, Afghanistan Not Too Keen on Bush's Help!


rocknation

[Malva Zebrina]

23. Bush is flailing in the air in his last gasp--he knows not a thing about foreign policy

He makes statements just to make it seem he knows what he is talking about, and notice they are getting to be quite the passive statements as opposed to his macho man, war president bloviating buffoonery. This is desperation and the man is nothing but a flaccid lame duck trying to make it appear as if he is indeed the 'decider' Well he isn't

[Human Torch]

9. Bush skeptical of Democrat troop reduction idea

By Steve Holland 43 minutes ago

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President George W. Bush, under pressure by the new Democratic majority in the U.S. Congress to change course in Iraq, reacted skeptically on Monday to their call for a phased troop withdrawal.

Bush met behind closed doors with members of a bipartisan panel expected to pressure him to make a shift in strategy in Iraq in order to adjust U.S. policy in the face of unrelenting violence, rising U.S. casualties and concern among Americans that there is no end in sight to the war.

The independent Iraq Study Group, led by former Secretary of State James Baker, a Republican with close ties to the Bush family, and former Democratic Rep. Lee Hamilton of Indiana, is to give its report to Bush and the U.S. Congress next month and experts say it could offer Bush a way to change tactics in Iraq.

Democrats who rode Americans' anger about the war into control of the House of Representatives and the Senate showed they were eager to flex their newfound muscle.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20061113/pl_nm/iraq_usa_dc_8

[kurth]

10. Ahhh. Fuck the Skeptical Monkey.

He's still looking for his rubber stamp...

[Human Torch]

11. Bush vows not to prejudge Iraq report

By BEN FELLER, Associated Press Writer 6 minutes ago

WASHINGTON - President Bush, after meeting Monday with a bipartisan group seeking consensus on a new approach for the war in
Iraq, said "I'm not going to prejudge" the report the panel soon will issue.

"I'm not sure what the report is going to say. I look forward to seeing it," Bush told reporters in the Oval Office at the conclusion of a separate meeting he had with visiting Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert.

Bush said the goal in Iraq still is "a government that can sustain and defend itself" and said "the best military options depend on conditions on the ground."

White House press secretary Tony Snow earlier described the meeting as a conversation in which both sides shared views. "This is not a deposition," he said. Further, Snow said there was not a presentation of alternatives but rather an assessment of the situation on the ground now.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20061113/ap_on_re_mi_ea/us_iraq

[SutaUvaca]

12. My, how big of him, the little twerp. n/t

[MUAD_DIB]

16. Well he is the decider.

[arewenotdemo]

27. He's also very generous in his comments on the opposition Party

“What’s interesting is they're beginning to understand that, with victory comes responsibility and I’m looking forward to working with the Democrats to achieve common objectives,” Bush said.

:puke:

[patricia92243]

13. I wonder if the report will get leaked? n/t

[truthisfreedom]

26. NPR just announced that the report will be made public next month.

[gratuitous]

14. Why does Bush even need the report?

Doesn't he have darn good intelligence? Isn't he The Decider? Doesn't that "lone wolf who plays by his own rules" always work out in the movies? What's this all about? Is Chimpy admitting that he isn't the Infallible Daddy whose first job is to protect us despite what that quaint Constitution says?

[Botany]

15. So what reports did he prejudge?

Does he have the slightest idea on how he has indicted
himself w/ his own words?

Look @ this point put Daddy back in charge and send him out for a bike rides.

[Solly Mack]

17. snicker

Hard to "pre-judge" a report you already know the contents of

Like I'm supposed to believe Poppy's man Baker hasn't shared the report already?

[ellenfl]

19. exactly. eom

[noonwitch]

18. Maybe that's his way of saying he's actually going to read this one?

We can hope. Seldom has the question been asked, Are our president learning?

[grytpype]

20. I wonder if they had to sugarcoat it for him.

It's so bad over there that no one is allowed to say how bad it is, especially in front of Little Lord Pissypants.

[Tempest]

21. And what's the first thing he does?

Bush calls for global isolation of Iran
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20061113/ap_on_go_pr_wh/us_israel


The Iraq report strongly calls for talks with Iran and Syria.

[Barrett808]

22. Didn't Hadley resign?

What's he doing there?

[tabasco]

24. So NOW he wants to hear other ideas on Iraq. Uh - huh.

Too late for these guys, Mr. Bush !





...and hundreds of thousands of innocent Iraqis!

[leftchick]

25. Bush cool to asking Iran, Syria to help on Iraq

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20061114/ts_nm/iraq_dc_68

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President George W. Bush, searching for a new approach in Iraq, expressed little enthusiasm on Monday for seeking Syrian and Iranian help to calm Iraq as he cautioned Democrats against quick U.S. troop reductions.

Bush, who has stated a need for "fresh perspectives" on Iraq after his Republican Party received a drubbing in last week's congressional elections, met at the White House with the Iraq Study Group, whose report in a month could offer him a change of course in Iraq.

Engaging Syria and Iran on Iraq is an idea thought to be under discussion by the panel, and is a strategy promoted by British Prime Minister Tony Blair, a staunch Bush ally.

Unrelenting violence in Iraq has added to the pressure on Bush as Baghdad reported that the bodies of 46 people had been recovered. A suicide bomb killed 11 Iraqis on a minibus and at least nine American and British troops were reported killed in the previous two days.