Ignoring the Iraqi parliament

May 14, 2007

There’s been quite a bit of discussion over the last few days about a majority of the Iraqi parliament endorsing draft legislation calling for a timetable for the withdrawal of U.S. troops. It’s one thing for the Bush administration to ignore the will of Americans and their elected representatives in Congress, but are war supporters really prepared to keep troops in a country in which their parliament has asked us to leave?

Apparently so. Consider this exchange from Meet the Press, between Russert and John McCain.

RUSSERT: [S]enator, the Iraqi parliament, a majority of the Iraqi parliament, has signed a petition asking for a date certain for withdrawal of American troops. If the Iraqi parliament wants it, a majority in the Congress want it, then why do you stand there and say, “No, you can’t have it”?

McCAIN: Because it’s my job to give my best estimate to the American people, no matter what the political calculations may be, as to what’s the best in our nation’s national security interest. […]

RUSSERT: But the duly elected people’s bodies, the U.S. Congress and the Iraqi parliament, say they want a troop withdrawal. That’s more than a poll. Isn’t that the voice of the people?

McCAIN: Well, the–as far as the Iraqi parliament is concerned, the Iraqi government obviously doesn’t feel that way, their–the representatives in their government. Second of all, there is some, a certain amount of domestic political calculations involved there in what the Iraqi, quote, “parliament” said.

That’s rather startling. McCain believes a majority of the U.S. Congress and the majority of the Iraqi parliament should be ignored. What’s more, McCain seems to believe Iraq’s legislative body is not only irrelevant, but hardly a legislative body at all, and not necessarily part of the Iraqi government. (I guess we should take its establishment off the list of Iraqi “success” stories?)

For that matter, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) seems to have a very different opinion on the matter. He told CNN’s Wolf Blitzer yesterday, “I read just this week that a significant number of the Iraqi parliament want to vote to ask us to leave. I want to assure you, Wolf, if they vote to ask us to leave, we’ll be glad to comply with their request.”

I take it that McCain wants to ignore McConnell, too?

One more thing to add to the McCain interview. He used one word repeatedly to describe conditions in Iraq.

* “At least we’re seeing some progress.”

* “Our commanders on the ground are saying that the Iraqi military is functioning far more effectively, effective, and we are seeing progress there.”

* “There are [sic] some progress being made.”

After a while, Russert reminded him of recent history.

RUSSERT: You say we’re making progress. You’ve been on this program talking about Iraq. In 2003…

McCAIN: Mm-hmm.

RUSSERT: …you said, “I believe we’ve achieved significant goals”; 2005, we view it as, as “hopeful,” we’re making “progress”; 2006, we’re on the “right track,” “I want to emphasize again” the “good things happening”; we’re “showing signs of success” in 2007. It’s upbeat, upbeat, upbeat.

McCAIN: I think…

RUSSERT: And yet the reality is quite different than that kind of optimistic message.

McCain responded by noting that he’d also criticized parts of the president’s war policy, but that was beside the point. He’s appeared on Meet the Press repeatedly for four years, constantly telling Americans that there’s reason for hope and optimism. In each instance, he’s been wrong.

What makes McCain think he still has any credibility left?

Shorter McCain: We brought democracy to Iraq. Now we’ll close the deal by rejecting the will of the majority.

  • As long as the Bu$hco minions have their daily dose of power, then credibility is something they can do without. Russert is nothing more than an enabler for McCain, and the only way to put the little rampstriker in its place is to freeze him out of the camera’s view.

    And—as for the Iraqi “government” disagreeing with the will of the Iraqi Parliament, I seem to recall seeing something along the lines of this “unitary executive” excrement several times before. Hmmm…let’s see now…Zimbabwe, Fiji, North Korea, China, the USSR, a few fascist feudal kingdoms in 20th century Europe run by guys in jackboots, Argentina, Panama……….

    Oh, wait—we’ve got something just like it, right here and now, sitting in the WH. Mccain thinks the People are going to vote for another four years of the same rubbish? Pinocchio’s nose just passed Pluto….

  • What makes McCain think he still has any credibility left?

    You ain’t lost your credibility till your wife and your dog stop buying into what you say.

  • When we do something like invade Iraq, we always seem to make the rhetorical distinction that we want to see “American-style democracy” established. So this is of course the next logical lesson for Bush to teach them: the legislative branch means nothing if the executive says something different.

  • “I read just this week that a significant number of the Iraqi parliament want to vote to ask us to leave. I want to assure you, Wolf, if they vote to ask us to leave, we’ll be glad to comply with their request.” (Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell)

    is he serious? then let’s do it! it shouldn’t be too difficult to get that kind of a vote out of the iraqi parliament. then we’ll see if he’ll put his money where his mouth is……

  • Re: #3 You ain’t lost your credibility till your wife and your dog stop buying into what you say.

    Isn’t that what’s happening to Bush now?

  • RUSSERT: You say we’re making progress. You’ve been on this program talking about Iraq. In 2003…

    “You’ve been on this program”?? Understatement of the year, you a$$hat.

    The senile warmonger has been on your show over 125 times, and no one else in the world has made 3 digits.

  • Check out U.N. resolution 1723:

    http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2006/sc8879.doc.htm

    “Notes that the presence of the multinational force in Iraq is at the request of the Government of Iraq and reaffirms the authorization for the multinational force as set forth in resolution 1546 (2004) and decides to extend the mandate of the multinational force as set forth in that resolution until 31 December 2007″

    So if the Iraqi Parliament vote becomes ratified, Bush has to leave by December, or else he will be in violation of the U.N. resolution.

    So there you go.

  • It’s actually quite telling, where McCain mentions “the representatives in their government” rather than the decision of the elected body as a whole. Although stammering all around it and trying to say it without saying it, as politicians often do, he refers to the core of the Maliki government, expats who are no more Iraqi than Shania Twain is still Canadian. No doubt some comfy arrangement has been made with the Bush government, likely having to do with oil and Production-Sharing Agreements, and that core is being left in place as long as there’s the slightest chance they might get a law on the books. If that happens, you’ll see the Bush administration pay attention to the decisions of the Iraqi government – and insist the rest of the world respect their wishes, too.

  • The next thing I expect to hear from McCain and Bush is that the Congress does not represent the will of the American people and the Iraqi parliament does not represent the will of the Iraqi people so both should be disbanded. What’s the point in having them if no one listens to them?

  • Is there anything war supports don’t ignore? Facts, polls, generals, governments…It still sometime amazes how much reality they can suppress and still be marginally functioning human beings.

  • I was so annoyed when I saw that McCain was the guest on MTP….again. He must have some serious dirt on Russert because he is on there literally all the time. When the Dems took back both houses of Congress in November, who was the guest: McCain. I’m sure there are other examples as it seems like he is on there every other week.

  • Seriously, WTF is Timmy “pumpkinhead” Russert telling us? That people with zero credibility need to be listened to?

    And he wonders why people make fun of his stupid show.

  • Bush’s “American-style democracy” is the photo op of voters waving futile purple fingers in salute to a totalitarian dictatorship.
    Rove is hard a work to make our votes in America just as meaningless.

  • McConnell just forgot to check his email for the latest talking point instructions. Don’t hold your breath while you wait for him to repeat that statement.

  • Can we start calling him the quote “senator”, or the quote “John McCain”?

  • McCain’s insane and should be ignored along with anyone who gives him an outlet for his views.
    Are you kidding? This is Bush’s way out. There is nothing but failure for Bush in Iraq BUT if asked to leave, well what else could he do…he just found his scapegoat…”In spite of the Democrats it was working but then the Iraqis themselves asked us to leave stating we had been successful and now they wanted to be sovereign so mission accomplished”. All of the obvious spin. Unfortunately we can’t leave without the oil contracts signed…excuse me, let me rephrase that. America can leave but the oil companies won’t and since they control Bush, we will stay till we get those contracts signed. Just like Bush, McCain has been bought and sold and McConnell just hasn’t gotten the memo yet. All the GOP will do what Bush does, or rather what his handlers tell him to do.

    • Comments are closed.