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Politics : Formerly About Advanced Micro Devices -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: steve harris who wrote (238917)	6/27/2005 3:14:25 AM
From: tejek	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 1572669

Two and half years ago, Rumsfeld said the war would last 6 days, 6 weeks, six months....but no longer. Why hasn't Bush fired him? **************************************************** Rumsfeld: Violence may rise** Insurgency in Iraq 'could go on for any number of years,' he says WASHINGTON Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld said yesterday that he is bracing for even more violence in Iraq and acknowledged that the insurgency "could go on for any number of years." Defeating the insurgency may take as long as 12 years, he said, with Iraqi security forces, not U.S. and foreign troops, taking the lead and finishing the job. The assessment comes on the heels of the latest Associated Press-Ipsos poll showing public doubts about the war reaching a high point - with more than half saying that invading Iraq was a mistake. Gen. John Abizaid, the top U.S. commander in the Middle East, appealed for public support of the soldiers and their mission. "We don't need to fight this war looking over our shoulder worrying about the support back home," Abizaid told CNN's Late Edition. This week, an ambush on a convoy carrying female troops killed four Marines, including at least one woman. Rumsfeld, making the rounds of the Sunday talk shows, said that insurgents want to disrupt the democratic transition as Iraqi leaders draft a constitution and plan for elections in December to choose a full-term government. "I would anticipate you're going to see an escalation of violence between now and the December elections," Rumsfeld told NBC's Meet the Press. And after that, it will take a long time to drive out insurgents. "Insurgencies tend to go on five, six, eight, 10, 12 years," Rumsfeld said on Fox News Sunday. "Coalition forces, foreign forces are not going to repress that insurgency. We're going to create an environment that the Iraqi people and the Iraqi security forces can win against that insurgency," he said. A British newspaper reported yesterday that American officials recently met secretly with Iraqi insurgent commanders north of Baghdad to try to negotiate an end to the bloodshed. Speaking generally, Rumsfeld said that those kinds of meetings "go on all the time" and that Iraqis "will decide what their relationships with various elements of insurgents will be. We facilitate those from time to time." Abizaid said that U.S. and Iraqi officials "are looking for the right people in the Sunni community to talk to ... and clearly we know that the vast majority of the insurgents are from the Sunni Arab community. It makes sense to talk to them." Echoing Rumsfeld, Abizaid made clear that "we're not going to compromise" with Iraq's most-wanted terrorist, Jordanian-born Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. The contacts, the Pentagon leaders said, were intended to make it easier for the Shiite-led government to reach out to minority Sunnis. The strength of the violent opposition to the U.S.-led coalition since the invasion in March 2003 has raised questions about whether the Bush administration understood that such a sustained reaction was possible. Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., stressed that he and other critics of Bush's Iraq policy are determined to show their support for American soldiers in Iraq. At the same time, "we're also determined to be constructive critics of the policies which not only sent them there as unequipped and without international support and without plans for the aftermath," he said. Before the war, Vice President Dick Cheney predicted that Iraqis freed from Saddam Hussein's rule would greet American troops as liberators. Rumsfeld said yesterday that he gave President Bush a list of about 15 things "that could go terribly, terribly wrong before the war started." He said they included Iraq's oil wells being set on fire; mass refugees and relocations; blown-up bridges; and a moat of oil around Baghdad, the capital. "So a great many of the bad things that could have happened did not happen," Rumsfeld said. Asked if his list included the possibility of such a strong insurgency, Rumsfeld said: "I don't remember whether that was on there, but certainly it was discussed." journalnow.com!nationworld&s=1037645509161

To: steve harris who wrote (238917)	6/27/2005 7:11:12 AM
From: Amy J	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 1572669

Steve, so why does Fox ignore this and only paints one picture? salon.com Regards, Amy J

To: steve harris who wrote (238917)	6/27/2005 2:09:54 PM
From: tejek	Respond to of 1572669

Afghanistan Says It Has Been Neglected By P. Vijian PUTRAJAYA, June 24 (Bernama) -- Trouble-stricken Afghanistan says rich Muslim nations failed to help reconstruct the country which is in tatters after prolonged civil-war. Its Finance Minister Dr Anwar Ul Haq Ahady said the focus of the Muslim community had now shifted to other problem-plagued areas like Palestine and Iraq, and financial aid from oil-rich Arab countries had dried up. "We all deserve attention and some Muslim countries have the capacity to help but many Arab countries in the Gulf have participated very little in the reconstruction of Afghanistan. "The OIC (Organisation of Islamic Conference) and IDB (Islamic Development Bank) have the capacity to help and we want them to do more for Afghanistan in terms of financing," he told Bernama here Friday. He lamented that many Arab countries, despite their strong wealthy status, failed to help some 25 million Afghanistanis suffering for decades. "Saudi Arabia pledged US$200 million but they are all in loans, Kuwait is yet to give financial support nor other Muslim nations. "We need IDB's support to persuade Muslim countries to help Afghanistan which needs huge finances for reconstruction," he added. Dr Anwar said IDB, the financial lender of OIC, allocated only US$70 million over a three-year period and the funds were hard to come by. "Most of the US$70 million is in loans, less than one percent is grants and so far only five percent of the fund has been disbursed," said Dr Anwar. Saddled in grinding poverty and facing a bleak future, Afghanistan would find it tough to repay these loans and IDB has not been favourable in its lending terms either, he said. "Most of these are in loans and terms of payment are not competitive compared to other international lenders like the World Bank (which offers better repayment terms). "We do not have the capacity to take more loans, we want IDB to give more grants like the World Bank and Asian Development Bank," he added. bernama.com.my