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Like a deer caught in the headlights, the Bush
administration is paralyzed in the face of imminent danger
from The Independent Institute
OAKLAND, CALIF. - Ivan Eland, senior fellow for foreign policy at the
Independent Institute and director of the Institute's Center for Peace and
Liberty, issued the following statement today regarding President Bush's speech
at the Army War College:
"George W. Bush's May 24th speech on Iraq at the Army War College was designed
to show that the president has a definite plan for Iraq's future. But the lack
of details provided about the imminent transfer of 'full sovereignty' to the
Iraqis indicates quite the opposite and that the word 'full' should be changed
to 'minimal.' The only new detail provided was the symbolic fluff of pledging
to destroy the Abu Ghraib prison, which will do little to repair the monumental
damage to the coalition war effort by U.S. torture perpetrated there. Like a
deer caught in the headlights, the Bush administration is paralyzed in the face
of imminent danger. In the face of growing Iraqi hostility toward the U.S.
occupation and eroding popularity of the war and president at home, Bush's
speech indicates that he will merely try to muddle through. On the ground, the
Bush administration has given up the risky goal of disarming the numerous Iraqi
militias and is now attempting to co-opt them in order to hold down U.S.
casualties until the U.S. presidential election.
In a unified Iraq, this strategy is recipe for eventual civil war. Instead the
president needs a bold plan of genuine Iraqi self-determination--what would
probably amount to a loose confederation of Iraqi ethnic/religious groups or
even three or more independent states--and withdrawal of U.S. forces."
Brigid O'Neil
The Independent Institute
100 Swan Way, Oakland, CA 94621-1428
510/632-1366 x 156 phone
510/568-6040 fax
boneil@independent.org
http://www.independent.org
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