Iraqis don’t want long-term occupation

September 14, 2007

One of the more disconcerting facets to the debate over Iraq policy is the subtle realization that the White House doesn’t seem to understand what’s going in Iraq. Take this exchange on CNN this morning between John Roberts and outgoing press secretary Tony Snow. (TP has video)

ROBERTS: How long are we going to be in Iraq? The president last night was setting the stage for a long-term relationship with the Iraqis, which would include a U.S. military presence there.

SNOW: Well, the Iraqi want that. It is impossible to say. We’re still in Germany. We’re still in Korea, in South Korea. What the president’s not talking about — I’m glad you raised it because Jack Reed tried to pawn this off on the American people last night, 130,000 troops in combat roles indefinitely? Wrong. General Petraeus himself had laid out what he felt was kind of a reasonable schedule for drawing down forces.

Now, this is ridiculous for a variety of reasons. First, Sen. Reed described an indefinite deployment because the “reasonable schedule” included nothing but question marks. If one looks ahead, and sees 130,000 troops deployed until an unspecified, impossible-to-reach moment, that, practically by definition, is indefinite.

Second, the German and North Korean comparisons continue to be foolish. As Josh Marshall explained, we never mounted counter-insurgency operations in these countries, and our long-term presence was part of a defense against an outside threat. “[I]f things calmed down, who would we be defending Iraq against?” Josh asked. “The question answers itself. No one.”

And third, the Iraqis “want” a long-term U.S. military presence in Iraq? Do White House officials even know what country they’re talking about?

As Satyam explained, Iraqis actually want the opposite.

But earlier this week, an ABC News/BBC/NHK survey of Iraqis stated that 79 percent of Iraqis oppose the U.S. presence — including 84 percent of Shi’as and 98 percent of Sunnis.

Fifty-seven percent of Iraqis approve of attacks on U.S. troops, up from 17 percent in 2004. As Matthew Yglesias observed, “when an actual majority support killing our soldiers, then how, exactly, are the soldiers supposed to help Iraq’s population?”

Furthermore, in June, a majority of the Iraqi Parliament passed a resolution rejecting “the continuing occupation of their country.”

It’s possible that when Snow referred to “the Iraqis,” he was referring to the Maliki government, but that still doesn’t excuse how wrong his comments were — Maliki doesn’t want this either.

Imagine, for a moment, what happens if Iraqi insurgents hear that the president’s top spokesperson went on national television to argue that Iraqis want a long-term U.S. military presence in Iraq. How desperate will the insurgents be to commit acts of violence to prove Snow wrong?

“[I]f things calmed down, who would we be defending Iraq against?” Josh asked. “The question answers itself. No one.”

The inevitable wingnut answer will be: “we are defending Iraq from Al-Quada/Terroists”

  • And what is up with Snow and the whole “wrong” exclamation recently. Sort of like Bush’s “in other words.” Snow speaks purtier than a $20 whore yet he cannot come up with a defense of the administration’s policy beyond a childish exclamation.

  • Who cares what the Iraqis want? What do they think? That they live in a democracy or something?

    Oh… what’s that you say?

  • “SNOW: Well, the Iraqi want that. It is impossible to say. We’re still in Germany. We’re still in Korea, in South Korea.”

    I forget, how many insurgency-related casualties has the US sustained in those two countries over the past fifty years?

    Also, when the fighitng in both countries ended half a century ago, the US had an actual post-war strategy to stabilize and rebuild Germany and South Korea.

  • There are no Iraqis. Iraq has always been a Western invention. There are Kurds, Shias, Sunnis, and a variety of other mix-and-match tribal and ethnic alliances.

    The nation of Iraq was cobbled together in the 1920’s as the British Protectorate of Mesopotamia and was held together by one strongman or another until the end of the Saddam Hussein regime.

    Yugoslavia, another cobbling together of a mixed bag of religious and ethnic groups, eventually dissolved into civil war after their strongman Tito had left the scene. No one should be surprised that the same thing is happening in the former nation of Iraq except the willfully ignorant bunglers in the Bush White House.

    In the end, the only thing that unites everyone in Iraq may be a wish to be rid of the American occupation. And then the people there will make their own nations with boundaries that they will draw themselves. It won’t be pretty, but it was always inevitable.

  • The Iraqis want it. Another Snow job as he exits. You’ve now earned your next sinecure.

    Just keep saying it over and over, and it becomes fact. You know, the Goebble’s principle. And it does become fact when people don’t read, or think, and when there’s no anti-spin machine.

  • It really just boggles my mind the way people like Snow and Perino and others just say things that are flat-out not true, do it with a completely straight face, and either they know it’s wrong but are trying to change the reality, or this is their reality – either way, we deserve better – a LOT better.

    Do they think they are only speaking or writing for the Fox News crowd? Is the chemo killing off Snow’s brain cells, too?

    Just once, I would like to hear some news person shout out, “Are you f’ing kidding us? – This is utter BS, and you know it.” Just once. On the air, for all to see and hear and be able to see the look on the faces of these liars. They can start with the Director of Propaganda, I mean the WH Press Secretary, and they can work their way up, through and around the government, until these people get the message that we really would rather hear the truth.

    Of course, that would mean that the news people would have to get off their lazy asses and actually do some research so they would know what the truth is.

    Neither is ever likely to happen, so I will just have to content myself with it happening in my little fantasy world.

  • The almighty Commander Guy has instincts so he knows he’s right. Don’t try and tell him differently, only he knows what’s best and that’s that. You see, he’s not wrong -no never that- you just don’t understand the “mission”. In Bushworld you’re free to dissent as long as when all is said and done you end up agreeing 100% with the almighty Commander Guy. SSDD.

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