(Photo credit to: REUTERS/Jim Young (JORDAN))
President Bush flew to Jordan today.
The Hadley smackdown of Maliki-as-incompetent gets leaked. Anonymous Bush Administration types try to tap dance around it by spinning the memo as actually being supportive. (Riiiiight. Ummm…hmmmm.) The Mailki/Abdullah/Bush meeting today gets scrubbed. Bush is only meeting with King Abdullah today. Maliki is put off until tomorrow — as spun by the Bush Administration — but what if Bush is the one that is put off until tomorrow by a rebuffing Maliki, while Abdullah gets to tutor Mr. Rose-Colored Glasses about the concept of honor and standing up for allies instead of your own damn poll numbers.
Is it me, or is the shuttle diplomacy actually coming from King Abdullah between Maliki and Bush? Again, and this is important, so listen up: YeeHaw is not a foreign policy.
Froomkin has some thoughts on the meaning of delusion. And, is it me, or is President Bush at it again with the "I have to be first through the door" thing that he does? Where is Watertiger when I need her?
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Leisure Guy!
No frist
ReddHedd !!
No brains! What an embarrassment this administration is.
epu’d
Maybe this is in response to Moqtada’s threat that he made good on today–
al- Maliki ain’t gonna meet with the preznit after all…
http://www.alertnet.org/thenew…..231342.htm
W and BLK (Brave Little King) II – what a pair! Two better than average arguments against the concept of fathers being able to pass their “greatness” on…
Is the dude in the wig holding a viola case?
I certainly can’t figure it out…
The humiliation of our “leaders” continues apace. BigTime summoned to Arabia; now we see that W’s Amman appointments are driven by al-Maliki. How low the mighty have fallen.
Are we with them or against them?
One can only hope that the tradition (of not criticizing a President as he travels abroad) has passed its “sell-by” date. Democrats need to call this President home from his ill-fated venture, and ask him nicely to bring his puppeteer Dick to Joe Biden’s hearings and explain their plan for
Troops
Home
NOW
When it comes to identifying a Middle Eastern leader who understands both his own culture and that of the US, King Abdullah is the name that comes to mind first. He probably understands American culture better than Bush does, for that matter.
If someone’s doing shuttle diplomacy, we could do a lot worse than Abdullah.
EPU’d from last thread but still relevant here:
BREAKING – BushCo has now prohibited the sale of iPods to Al Sadar and his followers. ;)
real breaking news – British Airways says small traces of radiation have been found on two of its aircraft by investigators looking into the death of a former Russian spy, wire services report.
Dr. Bong @ 1
Saying “Leisure Guy!” at the beginning of each thread is getting sooo boring.
*g*
From Christy’s Yahoo link:
Meanwhile, Iraqi lawmakers and cabinet ministers loyal to anti-American cleric Muqtada al-Sadr suspended their participation in the parliament and government in protest over al-Maliki’s summit with Bush.
The real question is whether al-Sadr will now actively oppose Maliki as opposed to simply making a statement. Maliki can’t survive active opposition.
What the hell is this guy’s problem with walking through doors? Can you imagine him in kindergarten pushing to the front of the line trying to cut off the teacher through the door?
Jeebus, this guy is an embarassment.
Ed*ard Teller @ 6
In need of brain bleach. Bush41 demonstrating his “greatness” with Barbra. I’m sorry, but misery loves company.
“Looking forward to that pig. What, you guys don’t like barbeque?”
OldCoastie @ 7
“Guess Who’s Not Coming to Dinner”
kristinejoy @ 16
Maybe he’ll try to give Abdullah a backrub?
ooo – it WAS Maliki that snubbed shrubya for dinner!
And, is it me, or is President Bush at it again with the “I have to be first through the door” thing that he does?
Looks that way. Emotionally, he is *such* a little boy.
mc #11:
:~P
Get ready for some serious scapegoating Mr. Maliki.It’s your problem because you can’t
quell the civil war! Leaked memo,PLEASE!
twolf1 @ 18
I don’t think there is enough Purell in the world for Abdullah to allow that.
Dinner is a protocol event… it would not be focused and official talks about Iraq.
Presumably, others will be present– that’s something I would like to know.
Despite what they are saying, this is unprecendented in my memory.
I think it has to do with Moqtada al Sadr’s actions & the memo.
Dinner tonight will start and end with…
Pie a-la Crow. Bush will be told it’s chicken.
From Froomkin (link in the post):
I’m guessing that the unnamed “White House aides” are now somewhat less delighted at all the press attention in Jordan. It’s bad enough to get stood up for a dinner date, but to have it happen with the cameras rolling and anchors commenting on it . . . that’s gotta hurt.
But I’m sure Karl will find a way to spin it. “I blame Clinton” is always ready to go.
Eureka Springs, AR @ 25
Will there be a Russian chef?
Now that Moktada and his people have pulled out of the government, is there even an Iraqi government at this point? Seriously, folks. This might well be the beginning of the end.
This was funny. From the NYT article about the leaked memo -
Sound like anyone else we know?
twolf1 @ 27
Skip the sushi. Trust me.
Peace wreath…just had to do this. Would have had it in a more timely fashion if Demetrius had time to work on it. Me, I’m a Photoshop novice so these things are more labor intensive when I try to do them.
That’s classified. (but watch the salad dressing for clues)
Grownups? Where are the grownups?
When you are a hammer every problem looks like a nail.
When your are nothing more than an old frat BS artist every problem looks like something to be spun.
well, al Maliki really stole Biden’s thunder, huh?
punaise @
17
LOL.
TeddySanFran @ 33
Having brunch at the Patio. :~}
EPU’d:
“The American era in the Middle East … has ended,” wrote former senior Bush State Department official Richard Haass, in the journal Foreign Affairs.
For the life of me, I never understood why our major ally in the region and its supporters were so keen on the US ripping up Iraq…
No wonder people don’t want to have dinner with W, the game’s over.
Isn’t this supposed to be really important business? What’s going on?
The possibilities are endless when you’re dealing with people who don’t know what they’re doing, and one group sure wants the world to see that Maliki doesn’t know what he’s doing either.
One thing is clear: Somebody in the administration is dropkicking Maliki. I wonder why.
Is Maliki being held up in Jordan while he is replaced in Iraq?
Is Bush being held up in Jordan while his people engineer Maliki’s replacement?
Have Shi’as, Sunnis, Kurds, or Ba’athists infiltrated Bush’s inner circle?
Did Bush have something more important to attend to?
Where is Cheney?
Who is in charge?
What does Condoleezza think about this?
What is King Abdullah’s role, and what is his objective?
What is Bush’s objective? Does he know?
Did somebody say something impolitic?
Did somebody fart?
Just a few questions for starters.
punaise @ 35
When are the Democrats going to do something about Iraq, that’s what I want to know. It’s all Clinton’s fault.
CNN reports 2,700 US troops being moved closer into Baghdad.
Here are my thoughts on this one.
Malaki is basically a sitting duck. He has lost the support of Al-Sadr.
Now the US must protect the Green Zone because you can bet your butt that Al-Sadr and his supports are gonna start making some moves for control.
So what do you?
You pre-emptivly move 2,700 US forces into the center of Baghdad to protect the Green Zone.
Just for a moment, suppose that Baker has given the go-ahead to these very leaders (Saudia Arabia and Joran) to speak “quite candidly” with Bush. Baker will make sure no repercussions happen. Thus these men want Bush and Cheney to see the facts as they exist from these 2 men.
And it would seem Maliki could actually be a strong leader by telling Bush to get out and take Halliburton with them. That would definitely quiet Sadr a bit. Don’t know about the “terrorists” in the country, i.e., friends and family of those who have been killed.
Maliki’s screwed. Things may start to move quickly and I don’t have a good feeling about any of it.
Eureka Springs, AR @ 37
Having brunch at the Patio. :~}
Patio’s been closed for years, dear, just a blight on Castro Street, left to rot by its owner Les Natali, around whom much else has swirled the last three years. Is it that Patio you meant?
UptownNYChick @ 14
The very thought makes me gag, but he must have a small dick.
Sorry.
Just in time for the holidays. Enjoy!
OT-Frist won’t run for president after all. USA Today.
Something tells me the SEC will make an announcement about their investigation into his “blind” trust very soon.
Maybe he has no dick.
Last week Cheney was summoned to Saudi Arabia (hurting my theory he’s working out an asylum deal for himself). Now we find Bush is basically going before King Abdullah. Considering how bad the Bush government is at diplomacy this is going to be a lowly regional baron asking for an audience before a powerful king. The US is no longer a superpower, just super-annoying. We can ruin stuff around the world, but have little or no influence anymore.
Our constitution has enshrined in it protection against presidents being foreign nationals. But it seems in the modern age the real threat is from corporate nationals who are more than willing to sell out our country for their financial interests.
susan @ 47
well, that would explain a lot…
Looks like it may be more show than subtance:
The Sadrists had threatened to quit the government and parliament if al-Maliki went ahead with the meeting. By downgrading their protest to a suspension of membership, the politicians left open a return to their jobs at a later date.
UptownNYChick @ 14
My German Shepard dog was that way. God I miss her.
GrandmaJ — ding-ding-ding!!!
Think you scored a hit there.
How much of all of this is pure image manipulation?
Maliki looks tough for rejecting Bush, and like his own man if the leaked memo shows a lack of American support;
Bush looks like he’s trying for showing up (which is his lifetime M.O., gets cred for merely showing up);
And Cheney just looks like he’s, well, not running the show if he’s at King Abdullah’s beck and call.
What’s this look like to you?
While Abdullah has been portrayed in some quarters as a bit of a political light weight (just not the man his dad was), it’s clear he needs to shake Bush up, or he’ll be living with 3 civil wars on his borders (Lebanon, Iraq, and Israel/Palestine). If he can crack through Bush’s delusions, he might be even a greater leader than was his late father.
puppethead, you could be right about Shooter being “summoned” – something seemed very off with that whole situation… and this biz today where shrub got uninvited to the dinner… very odd…
jacobo @ 39
No. he doesn’t know. Are you kidding? Is the Pope Catholic? Ask him that in Turkey.
jacobo,
I think that the Hadley memo was probably an authorized leak for domestic American political consumption, to show folks that Bush is not out of touch with reality, despite his public statements. The White House spinners didn’t apparently count on the fact that others outside the US would be a bit put out at the contents of the memo, and they’re pushing back.
Hard.
One thing is crystal clear: in no uncertain terms, Bush is being shown by the Iraqis (and perhaps Abdullah) that he is not in charge of what’s going on, not in control of events, and not able to do a damn thing about it. Not Bush, not Cheney, not Baker, and not the US generals.
Maliki is caught in the political parallel to the sectarian and insurgent military fighting. For a while, he could play Bush against the militia leaders, portraying himself as a broker between the two. Now, though, he’s stuck is being forced to choose one or the other . . . and the loser isn’t going to be happy.
I’m guessing he’s choosing Sadr over Bush, and this dinner date is how he’s telling Bush that he’s just not into him any more. “It’s not you, George; it’s me . . .”
yep. And as the “democratically elected leader by those of the purple fingers and a sovereign nation” he can do just that.
right?
right.
Peterr @ 57
ouch…
puppethead 48 — see my comment re: appearances.
Who exactly said Cheney was “summoned”?
Interesting word usage, yes?
Rayne, well it looks like a giant sucking pothole for America to me. But as far as only a photo and image opportunity, I was actually thinking Baker wanted both Abdullah in Jordan and Saudi Arabia to talk “frankly” to Bush and Cheney.
Bush has been very busy making alternative plans in lieu of the Baker/Hamiliton report. And Baker wanted these men to give Bush some real clear facts. Baker no longer trusts, if he ever did, the people around Bush to tell him the truth. Bush in on the first step of his 12-step program – acknowledge he has a problem. With truth for sure.
Anyway, I have long been hoping for some foreign leader to really give Bush the back of their hand, politically speaking of course, but most have been afraid of America going all Bully on them. So this meet could possibly fit into my scenario.
Does anyone think in a llittle more than two years, trhat George W Bush will remain a public figure?
Somehow, I doubt it. I suspect he will fade into such immediate obscurity, the networks and so forth will NEVER seek his opinion because he has none, outside what is scripted for him.
He is such a pathetic little man, ignorant, inarticulate, and he likes it that way, I suspect he’ll fade into obscurity without a bubble, and that’s hard to do these days, with cameras and such everywhere.
I also believe he’ll need a LOT more security around him than any modern ex-president.
Will be interesting to see how quickly and how harshly history judges him.
Peterr @ 57
Someone tell Hadley, Maliki got the message…
Eureka Springs, AR @
25
Please. Have patience with me. Whole new comments thing than what I’m used to.
This is HILARIOUS.
Bush is only meeting with King Abdullah today. Maliki is put off until tomorrow
The official spin is that it’s a “logistics problem”
Source: ABC Radio
This from the current Newsweek about Moktada:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15…../newsweek/
He’s the man now.
Sorry, messed up. I meant to say that quote was HILARIOUS.
First-time poster. Long-time lurker.
Has it been confirmed that Malaki is even in Jordan? Maybe he got ‘held up’ at a check point or something.
New thread, gang — and I think you’ll get a kick out of it. hehehe
HillCountryGal — welcome! :)
Guitar_Playing_Bastard @ 62
Here’s somebody who thinks we will all be looking to Bush for advice in the future.
Victor, go back to grape farming and teaching Latin 101 to cows at Fresno State, and get off the wing-nut welfare.
GrandmaJ @
41
I see the Kings Abdullah having vastly different agendae, though. Could the two Kings have been persuaded by JB3 to pursure their common goals during their BigTime and W facetime?
And what exactly would those commonalities be?
Excellent analysis and prismatic viewpoint, GJ. Thanks for this — it’s got me thinking!!
Maliki could send a body double, y’know, like Saddam had. That way Bush would think Maliki was there, and Sadr would know he wasn’t. Win-win. The beauty part is that neither Maliki nor Bush even needs to know that this took place.
kristinejoy @
71
That guy is fucking crazy.
I can just hear Abdullah now. “Normally I’d let him twist in the wind, but the Bushes are good family friends and honor demands that I show the kid how diplomacy is supposed to work. I owe his father that much for the billions in oil money.”
Hi HCG! Don’t be a stranger — your voice is unique and welcome here.
twolf1 @ 11
Oh fine, the next thing you know they’ll be prohibiting radioactive substances on aircraft. It’s always something.
Welcome HillCountryGal! Please post often.
Don’t worry about messing up, it’s almost like a rite of passage here. We need to collect the stories.
i hate to be so repetitive. this is the third or fourth time i’ve put up this quote but it just keeps being so relevant:
Now it is not good for the Christian’s health to hustle
the Aryan brown,
For the Christian riles, abd the Aryan smiles and
he weareth the Christian down;
And the end of the fight is a tombstone white with the name
of the late deceased.
And the epitaph drear: “A Fool lies here who tried
to hustle the East.”
Rudyard Kipling, “The Naulahka”
i found that quote in a Hunter S. Thompson book about a year ago.
TeddySanFran @ 43
Patio’s been closed for years, dear, just a blight on Castro Street, left to rot by its owner Les Natali, around whom much else has swirled the last three years. Is it that Patio you meant?
Yes TSF, the very place. So sorry to hear it sits idle. I spent many a Sunday brunch hours out back with wonderful friends recovering from our weekend adventures.
Biodun– here’s another take on al-Sadr:
http://gorillasguides.blogspot…..or-us.html
welcome HillCountryGal.
Rayne @ 60
Sooo, the Saudis can summon Cheney, but Congress can’t?
Just checking.
angie @81:
Thanks. Hilarious.
Rayne @ 60
Rayne—
I found this in Slate:
‘The Post’s lead also has some interesting nuggets of information thrown into the story. According to officials, Vice President Cheney was “basically summoned” by Saudi Arabia to discuss Iraq, and the trip was not the simple meeting of two allies, as was initially portrayed. The paper also talks to an intelligence official who says Sadr’s Mahdi army has grown quickly in the last year and now has anywhere from 40,000 to 60,000 members, which makes it more effective than the official Iraqi army.’
“According to officials…”
ummm, I don’t get it Biodun– it’s a serious posting from an Iraqi on MFI’s blog.
Being first through the door is leadership… isn’t it?
My conspiracy theory:
1.) Bush is being set up. The memo was leaked at the worst possible time to provoke just this kind of response from Maliki and the Shiites.
2.) He is kept in Jordan an extra day while the middle east heats up around him. The place is dangerous and the natives are getting restless. Someone(s), whether foreign or domestic, decides to take Bush out. They succeed.
3.) Cheney is now free to drop that nuclear bomb and see what it does. ( you know he wants to) As retaliation for what he sees is Iran’s hand in the matter, he obliterates Tehran.
4.) The world recoils at the horror of it all but the point is made. The US is not afraid to blow the troublemakers to smithereens. Anyone else that gets between us and the oil is going to suffer the same fate.
Scary, ain’t it?
angie @ 85
I agree it’s a serious posting. Hilarious: Sorry, wrong choice of words…
watertiger’s at her new pad:
http://www.dependablerenagade.com
GW Bush’s legacy…
The Middle East left in shambles & Americas prestige and reputation torn and shattered.
http://www.icasualties.org/oif/default.aspx
HECK OF A JOB jR!!
albatross @ 75
Uhhh… if you mean Abdullah of Jordan, well, Jordan doesn’t have any oil to speak of. (Which just means that her kings have to be all the more gutsy, really.) But apart from that, I can totally see him thinking this.
on the plus side – — first through the door; first through the exit.