Newsweek: WH considering a plan to lock Maliki and the others in a room until they resolve issues

[sabra]

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19762057/site/newsweek/page/3/

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Yet Bush's personal anguish does not seem to have altered his calculations, Smith says. "His formula is, 'We'll stand down while they stand up.' I've come to believe that is a mirage," says Smith, who calls Iraqi Prime Minister Maliki a "weak reed." Smith has company: at the heart of the Republican rebellion on the Hill is disgust with Maliki and the Iraqis. Part of the idea behind pushing a troop drawdown is to force Maliki and other Iraqi leaders to settle their sectarian feuds. "My conclusion is that Iraqi political leaders won't reach honorable compromises until they have their skin in the game. Not their soldiers', but their own," says Smith. There are signs that the White House is also losing patience with Maliki & Co. The White House is seriously considering a plan to lock Maliki and the others in a room until they come up with compromises on vexing issues like sharing oil revenues, says a White House official who asked for anonymity speaking about a sensitive matter. Whether the Iraqis would go along with this scheme is another question.

:crazy: