WP: Ally's Timing Is Awkward for Bush

[kskiska]

Thursday, February 22, 2007; A12

As the British announced the beginning of their departure from Iraq yesterday, President Bush's top foreign policy aide proclaimed it "basically a good-news story." Yet for an already besieged White House, the decision was doing a good job masquerading as a bad-news story.

What national security adviser Stephen J. Hadley meant was that the British believe they have made enough progress in southern Iraq to turn over more of their sector to Iraqi forces. To many back in Washington, though, what resonated was that Bush's main partner in Iraq is starting to get out just as the president is sending in more U.S. troops.

No matter the military merits, the British move, followed by a similar announcement by Denmark, roiled the political debate in Washington at perhaps the worst moment for the White House. Democrats seized on the news as evidence that Bush's international coalition is collapsing and that the United States is increasingly alone in a losing cause. Even some Republicans, and, in private, White House aides, agreed that the announcement sent an ill-timed message to the American public.

"What I'm worried about is that the American public will be quite perplexed by the president adding forces while our principal ally is subtracting forces," said Sen. John W. Warner (R-Va.), a longtime war supporter who opposes Bush's troop increase. "That is the burden we are being left with here."

more…
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/02/21/AR2007022101821.html?sub=AR

[lovuian]

1. Leaving the party just when things are going to get interesting

bush is seeing just how many friends he has got

Not Many

[redwitch]

2. The Lithuanians are leaving. All 50 of them.

They are of course going home, like the Brits because southern Iraq is all neat and tidy now, this is really a SUCCESS story. It's not that the coalition isn't willing anymore, not at all! Course, it might have been a better thing for the Bushies if they decided to help out in Baghdad... But they are smarter than we are and they are going home.

[rodeodance]

4. 53

[redwitch]

6. 53??

That makes all the difference! Oy. What a mess America is in. Not to mention Iraq. 'Cos it's boring. :sarcasm:

[rodeodance]

3. hey John I am more than perplexed!1

[rodeodance]

5. they all had their tlking points in order-cheney, rice, hadley. Not like their

response to Walter Reed issue----where they did not care (read about on Sunday says Tony-----yet they did not even utter a single response till tony got asked about it at a press breifing! Rather Katrina-like,

[w4rma]

7. Good timing for the rest of America, though. (nt)

[truthisfreedom]

8. Good news for the UK. Bad news for bushco.

They can't put enough lipstick on this pig.

[Arugula Latte]

9. Coalition of the Exiting.

Guess the Brits have had enough of this quagmire fiasco.

[tblue]

10. Coalition of the Chilling

[StrictlyRockers]

11. Coalition of the Unwilling

[BigDDem]

12. Coalition of the Billing

Does Estonia still have their 35 troops there?

[StrictlyRockers]

16. Coaliion of the Bailing

[gratuitous]

13. Oh, it's just bad timing

Well, that and a lot more death and chaos, but mostly it's bad timing because of the political hit that a president with sub-freezing approval numbers will take.

Thank you, Washington Post, for so clearly delineating for us peons who are sending our children, siblings and parents to kill and die for this criminal regime what's really important in all this: How does this affect the political prospects of an unpopular lame duck president?

[Arugula Latte]

15. Oh, woe. This has turned into a P.R. crisis! Noooooo!

The brutal slaughter of hundreds of thousands was one thing, but, oh gawd no, not the bad timing for Bush's approval numbers!! :cry:

[Felix Mala]

14. Truth, Constitution, Iraq Disaster and Pretzels also awkward for Bush

Worst Disaster to ever hit the U.S.

[louis-t]

17. Oh, by all means Mr. Blair, keep your troops in harm's way

a little longer to help out yer ole bud chimpie. Cuz his numbers are soooo bad. The important thing is make sure bushco doesn't look bad. Sheeeesh!