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Originally posted by sgtclub
Cite please. Wasn't Allawi blessed by the UN? Or is the UN now a puppet of the US as well.
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Suddenly the UN carries the imprimatur of legitimacy? Oh, how the neo-cons have fallen!
More seriously, I don't really get your point. The choice of Allawi came out of the Iraqi governing council, to the apparent surprise of everyone outside of it. The US' agreeing to go along with it, in light of the fact that we've got 100k soldiers in country and the keys to the joint, strikes me as important. If we weren't very comfortable with Allawi, I think we'd have said so.
The UN's acquescence came in the context where not only were they not on the field, they're hardly even on the sidelines. I'm not sure they were even in the stadium. Their agreement was nice and all, but let's not pretend that they had either significant involvement in, or impact on, the outcome.
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Regardless, that is not the point. The point is that Kerry's/Lockhart's choice of words was, and this is an understatement, extremely undiplomatic.
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I don't disagree. He could've made his point less graphically.
But what's getting my back up is the insistence by those on this board that it's treasonous to say anything negative surrounding his visit. That's horseshit. If you guys believe that's the case, then
don't invite the comments by using the man as a goddamn GOP campaign prop.
Joe Biden, BTW, was similarly upset during the Sunday talk show circuit. Here on
FNC:
- Look, this guy's [Allawi's] in a tough, tough, tough spot. John Kerry wasn't criticizing him. John Kerry was pointing out — why is it you guys — I mean, here the president of the United States of America stands up there and sends this signal to the entire world that our intelligence community isn't worth a damn, all it does is guess. And you guys say when he says, "Well, he really meant to say estimate," you say, "well, OK."
Kerry says something, you know what he means, and you make it sound like he's indicting Allawi. That's malarkey, pure malarkey. He wasn't indicting Allawi. He was saying, "Level with the American people, Mr. President, for god's sake.
And the last thing I want to make this point: I find the way the opposition is dealing with this is really, really dangerous. They're telling everybody that basically if Kerry becomes president of the United States, he's not going to stick with Iraq.
I personally was authorized by Kerry in front of all my colleagues to say the first thing in a private meeting, I said, "Mr. President, you know me." And he said, "Yes, I do." I said, "I guarantee you that John Kerry as president — you will continue to have the full support of the United States of America in order to be able to establish a representative republic. He said, "Thank you, and I know it."
