IfPowell: asked, U.S. will leave Iraq

Powell:If asked, U.S. will leave Iraq
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2001929859_govern15.html
By Glenn Kessler -- The Washington Post -- Saturday, May 15, 2004

WASHINGTON — Secretary of State Colin Powell emphatically said yesterday that if the incoming Iraqi interim government ordered the departure of foreign troops after June 30, they would pack up without protest, but emphasized he doubted such a request would be made.

Powell said the United States believes a U.N. resolution passed last year and Iraqi administrative law provide necessary authority for coalition forces -- currently numbering about 170,000 -- to remain even beyond the scheduled June 30 handover of limited sovereignty to an interim Iraqi government.

"We're there to support the Iraqi people and protect them and the new government," Powell said at a news conference with other foreign ministers from the Group of Eight nations. "I have no doubt the new government will welcome our presence and am losing no sleep over whether they will ask us to stay."

But were the new government to say it could handle security, "then we would leave," Powell said.
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looks like we are being set up for a typical bush* bail-out. in the past bush*'s MO, when he was holding the sh*tty end of the stick, would be to retreat and declare victory

Will June 30th be another May-First-Mission-Accomplished faux-pas?

...so we all know that Bush's Puppet Gov't in Iraq will say "Please Don't Go, we love you so"...and then they roared their terrible roar..

Sorry....read "Where the Wild Things are", Maurice Sendak to my 4 year old at bedtime...

What a joke...your right...the Bushies will say "See, they want us to stay?"....Maybe the Iraqi people will have a civil war and hang their gov't from bridges...ofcourse Al Qaida will be blamed...

Sorry, its late/early...

I'm sure if they were asked to pull out the Bush people would express their "concern" about the consequences of a withdrawl ("You really, really DON'T want to do that"). But this could just be a trial balloon to see how it is received. The neo-con think tank keyboard peckers may piss and moan, but neo-conservativsm is basically an elite driven political philosophy. It exists mostly in the universities, think tanks, country clubs and corporate boardrooms. It has little appeal on Main Street and in Missouri coffee shops. And besides, the Bush team may need those exhausted troops for their next war against Syria and/or Iran.

...where did they come from? I suppose they were always there and we just figured it was crazy rantings from lunatics on the street corner talking to themselves....How they got into power was probably because we were all too busy ignoring them....

Never again...Like a Nazi Hunter, I hope the DU and other like minded people hunt these people down and expose them for what they are....

..."looks like Pre-mature IRAQification"

bush*'s numbers specifically related to Iraq are circling the toilet,
and his numbers on other issues are likewise circling or well on their way to the septic tank

the general public reaction to Berg's death was not as I had expected - I figured people would be screaming for bloody nukes to be dropped on Iraq. But quite the contrary - the general reaction has been to ask "Why the hell are WE there in the first place?"

bush has got to show some "positive progress" if he hopes for at least a bump in the polls -- what better way than to turn tail and declare victory?

Mistake? I believe so -- bush* inc is focused on November Selection. The only unity in Iraq at the moment is to get us out of there. Once we are gone -- all bets are off regarding Iraqi unity. Civil War and further destablization of the region is a very probable.