During today’s press gaggle aboard Air Force One, press secretary Tony Snow said Iraq can “sustain, defend and govern itself.” That’s great. Can we bring the troops home now?
The context was a question about whether the administration would have a response to tomorrow’s announcement of the verdict in Saddam Hussein’s trial. Snow said he didn’t know and then gave the gist of the response.
Q And is there going to be any sort of response to the Saddam trial tomorrow? Are you planning anything on that?MR. SNOW: I don’t know. We’ll let you know if and when we have a response. I think the most important thing to note right now, even before, is that Iraq has an independent judiciary. We [are] talking about an Iraq that can sustain, defend and govern itself, and you see — we’ve seen progress when it comes on the military side, not only the Iraqi security forces — this very important police operation today — but also an independent judiciary. These are things that are absolutely vital to building a democracy that will not only sustain itself, but have the faith and support of the populous. So that’s what I can say about it right now, in absence of any verdict. We’ll let you know tomorrow if we have anything to say.
It’s over. We won. Raise your hand if you think Bush will let the verdict go unremarked. Ah, you there: good. Then you’ll believe this next one, too.
The followup question, to which Snow reacted incredulously and failed to answer, was about the timing of the verdict.
Q The possible timing of this, just before the elections — some people might be skeptical of that?
MR. SNOW: Are you smoking rope? (Laughter.) Are you telling me that in Iraq, that they’re sitting around — (laughter) — I’m sorry, that the Iraqi judicial system is coming up with an October [sic} surprise?
Q November.
MR. SNOW: A November surprise? Man, that's -- wow.
And there you have it. It is simply inconceivable that the Iraqi judiciary, with its long history of integrity, impartiality and independence, might be subject to US influence. Except Tony didn't actually say that: he just said the reporter must be high.
Wow.
Presumably the "important police operation" Snow referenced is this:
IRAQI police commandos killed 53 suspected al-Qaeda militants in a fierce gunbattle on the southern outskirts of Baghdad overnight, an interior ministry spokesman said."This afternoon we received intelligence reports that gunmen were endangering the security of the region," said Brigadier General Abdel Karim Khalaf, referring to the Baghdad suburb of Tuwaitha. "They are al-Qaeda.
"The National Police had a severe fight with them and as a result of these clashes, they killed 53 terrorists, arrested 16, burned 40 cars and seized many weapons."
If accurate, it's good news other than in the sense that Iraqi police are fighting pitched battles with insurgents on the outskirts of the capital city, possibly as part of an effort by the insurgents to cut Baghdad off from the rest of the country.
Sunni insurgents have cut the roads linking the city to the rest of Iraq. The country is being partitioned as militiamen fight bloody battles for control of towns and villages north and south of the capital.As American and British political leaders argue over responsibility for the crisis in Iraq, the country has taken another lurch towards disintegration.
Well-armed Sunni tribes now largely surround Baghdad and are fighting Shia militias to complete the encirclement.
The Sunni insurgents seem to be following a plan to control all the approaches to Baghdad. They have long held the highway leading west to the Jordanian border and east into Diyala province. Now they seem to be systematically taking over routes leading north and south.
Dusty truck-stop and market towns such as Mahmoudiyah, Balad and Baquba all lie on important roads out of Baghdad. In each case Sunni fighters are driving out the Shia and tightening their grip on the capital. Shias may be in a strong position within Baghdad but they risk their lives when they take to the roads. Some 30 Shias were dragged off a bus yesterday after being stopped at a fake checkpoint south of Balad.
In some isolated neighbourhoods in Baghdad, food shortages are becoming severe. Shops are open for only a few hours a day. "People have been living off water melon and bread for the past few weeks," said one Iraqi from the capital. The city itself has broken up into a dozen or more hostile districts, the majority of which are controlled by the main Shia militia, the Mehdi Army.
"We [are] talking about an Iraq that can sustain, defend and govern itself, and you see — we’ve seen progress when it comes on the military side, not only the Iraqi security forces — this very important police operation today — but also an independent judiciary.”
Clap harder, Tony.
