Bush Decides: There Will Be No Graceful Exit From Iraq

Here's Bush today:

"There's a lot of speculation that these reports in Washington mean there's going to be some kind of graceful exit out of Iraq. We're going to stay in Iraq to get the job done, so long as the government wants us there," said Bush.

"This business about 'graceful exit' just simply has no realism to it at all. We're going to help this government," said the US president.

So the decider has decided, even though he claims not to have yet seen the Baker report. And he still claims that he is willing to listen to all arguments before making up his mind!

"I look forward to hearing their recommendations. I want to hear all advice before I make my decisions about adjustments to our strategy and tactics in Iraq to help this government succeed," Bush said in Jordan.

"I assured the prime minister that our review is aimed at strengthening the capacity of the sovereign government of Iraq to meet their objectives, which we share," said the US president.

Oh, so were those the Iraq Study Group's terms of reference? That's not how it was portrayed six weeks ago. Was it all just an expensive taxpayer-funded sham to help the GOP through the elections? Or is Bush pre-emptively defying the report's recommendations? Or is he just bullshitting al-Maliki until he can get back home to the ranch?

It's all smoke and mirrors, just like the Hadley memo. The people of the USA are being played for losers.

And meanwhile al-Maliki is busy conjuring visions from fairydust, dancing between the devil and the deep blue sea, making promises he has no capacity to fulfill:

"I can say that Iraqi forces will be ready, fully ready to receive this command and to command its own forces, and I can tell you that by next June our forces will be ready."

Sadly, the long-suffering people of Iraq continue being played for the biggest losers of all.