Rice Says US Will Remain Until Iraq 'Can Defend Itself'

[chlamor]

Rice says U.S. will remain until Iraq `can defend itself'


By Nancy A. Youssef, Knight Ridder Newspapers Sun May 15, 4:34 PM ET

BAGHDAD, Iraq - U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice told the Iraqi government Sunday that U.S. forces would remain until the fledging nation "can defend itself," but more violence throughout the country suggested that was not imminent.

On Rice's unannounced daylong visit, 24 bodies were found in two separate locations, all killed execution style and some beheaded. And a car bomb in Baqouba narrowly missed that province's governor; while a second bombing in the city killed four people and wounded another 24.

At the same time, Rice said that Iraqi forces are progressing toward securing their own country and containing an insurgency trying to thwart the new government.

"The strategy for the transfer of responsibility to the Iraqi security forces is to equip and train the Iraqi security forces as quickly as possible," Rice said. "Our promise to the Iraqi leadership is the multinational forces are here to help Iraq defend itself until it can defend itself. We want that to be as soon as possible, I assure you."

http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/krwashbureau/20050515/ts_krwashbureau/_bc_usiraq_wa

[Lerkfish]

1. Hey, moron, they're defending themselves against US! nt

[chlamor]

7. Yea isn't that statement

just breathtaking.

Wolfowitz says "fighters coming in from outside the country are the problem", etc. These are really truly demented beings.

[K-W]

11. Its the same propaganda that has worked for the US for decades

no reason for them to think it wont work now.

[sweetheart]

39. But they're all telling the truth

When iraq can defend itself, it will kick the US and the foreign
fighters from outside the country *OUT*, and we'll "leave". It makes
total sense. They're so demented that they believe they can tell
the truth and nobody will notice. :-)

[Protagoras]

2. The response is so obvious...

but Washington is now an Irony Free Zone. And we have no Journalists left who'll jump on something even this easy.

[tabasco]

3. Replace the words "can defend itself" with "oil is gone" ...

and I think she is telling the truth.

[ckramer]

5. lol

how true!

[TexasLawyer]

37. Good one!

[DS1]

4. What's with the fascination with cutting people's heads off?

I've seen this done to Russians in Chechnya, foreigners in Iraq, and now to Iraqis themselves. Is this some sort of 'religion of peace' fetish?

:eyes:

[no_to_war_economy]

6. don't worry Condi

CIA-black ops-ultra secret- missions will guarantee civil strife for years to come

[AtTheEndOfTheDay]

10. What the Hell is that?

A prisoner shipping crate?

[no_to_war_economy]

23. that Iraqi is just trying to

give him sweets and flowers

[napi21]

8. I don't disagree with her statement, but ,

I disagree with the way we're trying to accomplish it.

If someone else is going to risk their life to protect you, why would you want to risk your own?

I think we should state a departure date, and tell the Iraqi's we will do all the training, & provide all the quipment necessary for them to be a self sufficient Country, but they've got (6 months, one year??) only this amount of time to learn. After that, they're on their own, and we're gone. I believe they need a reason to really want to take over all the responsibility ASAP.

[leesa]

47. They just want us out and to return the money we stole

We should leave immediately and pay them reparations for decades for the disaster we caused.

WE are the enemy. WE are the bad guys.

[K-W]

9. Paging George Orwell, what she actually means is that we will remain

until the people of Iraq cannot defend themselves against the national guard we will provide for our client state.

[Double T]

12. Until the Iraqi's can defend themselves from ourselves!!

[wtmusic]

13. Our ticket to eternal oil

is a steady stream of dead Iraqis

[TahitiNut]

14. Against Iran, of course.

:eyes: Never mind the fact that the US is the real threat. The rhetoric must set the stage for the next foray into Bushoilini "regime change," making the world safe for global corporatism.

[grumpy old fart]

15. Until they can defend themselves from themselves....???

I mean, what does this statement mean in the context of a civil war? It's not like they are under attack from Iran, Syria, etc....

[K-W]

17. It means until the US backed elites can defend themselves from the people.

This whole business is so sick.

[chlamor]

22. May a House drop on your head St. Condi

Meinhardt Raabe sits for an interview at his New York hotel on Tuesday, May 3, 2005k. The 89-year-old is promoting his book Memoirs of a Munchkin. Mr. Raabe played the character of the coroner in the 1939 movie The Wizard of Oz and uttered the famous line that pronounced the wicked witch dead, saying “As Coroner, I must aver, I thoroughly examined her, And she’s not only MERELY dead, She’s really most SINCERELY dead.”

[Roland99]

16. "In the year 2525...."

[gratuitous]

18. Doggone it, another unforeseen development!

Now who could possibly have thought before the U.S. went in to shock and awe the Iraqis that without a military of their own, they'd be hard pressed to maintain peace and defend themselves (particularly from their neighbors the Iranians)? Oh well, there's no possible way this outcome could have been predicted any more than anyone could have possibly foreseen the use of passenger jets as projectiles to be used against buildings.

Nobody's fault. Totally unpredictable. Medals of Freedom all around!

[NNN0LHI]

19. Seems like they are protecting themselves pretty well now if you ask me

How many US casualties are there now? Mission accomplished my ass.

Don

[Paulie]

20. They haven't been able to defend themselves since 1991

And it will take atleast that amount of years since to build them back up into a military power that can invade......defend themselves. Joy of joys....

[Bush_Eats_Beef]

21. "Until Iraq Can Defend Itself" from the U.S.? Guess we're staying a while.

[rocktivity]

24. But what Iraq is defending itself against IS the US!!!!

:crazy:
rocknation

[oasis]

25. Condi has ceased using the term "dead-enders". Good move, since it

appears that our military in Iraq has reached a dead end in its attempt to return home.

[Decay]

26. Defend against who?

If this war proved anything is that you should NOT invade Iraq.

[nolabels]

29. Ans: against the USA of course silly

Ms. Rice probably misspoke, probably was thinking along the lines of how the USA would no longer be able to defend spending hundreds of billions on wild goose chases in the area. :shrug:

The chimp just pledged his unwavering support (your tax dollars) for an endless war over there and she is just trying to cover the back door escape out (double speak for the "We did not actually say that" out).:banghead:

[jobycom]

27. It means we will remain until we decide to leave, at which time

we will declare that Iraq can defend itself.

[triguy46]

28. Declare victory and pull out

I think we have seen this before, hmmmm...about 30 years ago it seems.

[Ezlivin]

30. Can Korea defend itself? How about Japan?

We've got bases and troops still stationed there decades after hostilities ended.

Who thought that Iraq would be any different?

[Cessna Invesco Palin]

31. "until Iraq `can defend itself'"

Which unfotunately will end up being defined by their ability to kick our asses out of the country.

[Barrett808]

32. Viewed that way, the statement is completely true n/t

[Media_Lies_Daily]

33. Besides, we have those 14 permanent bases that we have to occupy....

...I wonder how long THAT "lease" runs?

[gordianot]

34. Against rouge 1970 Cessna 150's?

Piloted by Bush supporters?

[Az_lefty]

35. Iraq is trying to defend itself from Iraq...

how the Hell can they ever manage to do this? The battle for Baghdad was won, but the War for the hearts and minds of Iraq is utterly lost.
:hide:

[MasonJar]

36. In The Prince Machievelli clearly says that when a prince (this

undoubtedly covers lying, murdering pseudo princes) conquers a country, he must move to the country to be sure everything goes well. Now if Condi and Rummy and Dickhead and the Prince of Murderers would just take the advice of one of their soulmates, all would sort itself out so satisfactorily.

[splat@14]

38. I'm not sure what to do about when to leave.

I can't get past the way we got there. No one is held accountable for the lies that started this war. That needs fixed.

How to end it? I don't know. I've read good arguments from those that say our presence is the problem and those that think we need to support the general population until things settle. I'm beginning to lean more in favor of the former as I don't think we'll can know if we've won. We're still in Japan and Germany 60 years later and there was clear definition regarding victory then.

With no idea on what stability looks like, let alone "victory", on what measure to you base "mission accomplished".

[Darranar]

40. Which will never happen as long as the US remains. n/t

[Zerex71]

41. Defend itself from who? Us?

In that case, Iraq is officially State 52 (Israel being State 51). We'll never leave. Permanent military foothold in an oil-rich region, a page taken right out of the PNAC playbook. But the sheeple continue to watch "Survivor" and "American Dingbat" and shove Big Macs in their faces.

[Nihil]

42. Over 1600 military families can prove you wrong Rice.

Iraq is actually quite good at defending itself already.

[Disturbed]

43. what measure do you base "mission accomplished"?

When all the oil is gone.

[Massachusetts]

44. Rice says U.S. will remain until Iraq `can defend itself'

That could be a very long time......

[indepat]

45. Does Madame Secretary mean we will be in Iraq until the seventh of never?

[leesa]

46. So when they can defend themselves against us, we'll leave?

Same as VietNam!