Al-Khaleej,
United Arab Emirates
Bush Response to Baker Report 'Truly Astounding'
“It's this unreasonable and unhelpful attitude that is at the heart of the unholy mess in Iraq and the never-ending woes of the Iraqi people.”
EDITORIAL
December 11, 2006
Khaleej Times - U.A.E. - Original Article (English)
KING Abdullah of Saudi Arabia was
hardly exaggerating when he warned fellow Arab leaders and the international
community that the Middle East was a powder keg waiting to explode. The Saudi
leader, hosting the annual Gulf Cooperation Council summit, was referring to
the murderous mayhem in Iraq and volatile situations in the Palestinian
Territories and Lebanon.
Frankly speaking, the GCC summit highlighted
what has been staring us in the face for quite some time. Unfortunately,
despite the serious nature of the crises in Iraq, Palestine and Lebanon, little
of meaning is being done to address with them.
Having invaded Iraq and brought down
its government including its security infrastructure, the U.S. is now
completely clueless as to how to put Iraq back together and get out. President
Bush insists that American troops will stay in Iraq until "the job is
done" - whatever that means.
The trouble is, Bush has lost this
utterly pointless war but doesn't want to face reality. More to the point, he
doesn't want to admit he desperately needs outside help to fix it.
A belated attempt by his father Bush
Senior to help the bewildered President - by roping in former secretary of
state James Baker, is being resisted by the White House. Bush's response to the
recommendations by the panel chaired by Baker and Lee Hamilton has been truly
astounding. Instead of being grateful for the timely help, the President argues
that he can't accept all recommendations of the bipartisan committee. It's this
unreasonable and unhelpful attitude that is at the heart of the unholy mess in
Iraq and the never-ending woes of the Iraqi people. Clearly, the president's
king-sized ego makes it difficult for him to see the writing on the wall, even
if it means the loss of hundreds of thousands of Iraqi lives.
Again it is this rigid mindset of the
administration that has exacerbated the situation in the Palestinian
Territories. By refusing to deal with the freely-and-fairly elected representatives
of the Palestinian people, Washington has added to the woes of these besieged
people. Instead of opposing Israel's persecution and financial boycott of the impoverished
Palestinians, the Administration has imposed its own financial constraints on
the Palestinian government and its institutions. As a result, an unprecedented
humanitarian disaster has enveloped the occupied territories, with Palestinians
struggling to survive. Next door in Lebanon, Israel's aggression has created a
serious political crisis threatening the country with another civil war.
In fact, as James Baker argued in his
report, the crises in Iraq and Lebanon are more-or-less directly linked to the
Palestine-Israel conflict. Peace in Palestine is still the key to a peaceful
Middle East.
VIDEO FROM IRAN: 'AMERICA DESTROYED
ALL OF IRAN'S ENEMIES IN THE REGION'
IRANIAN TV, IRAN: Excerpts from an interview with Mohsen Rezai, Secretary of the Iranian Expediency Council, November 11, 00:04:08, MEMRI
"America's arrival in the region presented Iran with an historic opportunity. The kind of service that the Americans, with all their hatred, have done us - no superpower has ever done anything similar."
Mohsen Rezai, Iranian Expediency Council Secretary
[LATEST NEWS PHOTOS: Iraq Study Group].
