White House rejects idea of dividing Iraq
Awaiting the recommendations of a commission exploring US options in Iraq, the White House today emphatically ruled out some proposals to end the long and unpopular war.
Presidential spokesman Tony Snow said a suggestion to divide Iraq into Sunni, Shiite and Kurdish regions, each with high degrees of autonomy, was a “nonstarter.”
Similarly, he said a phased withdrawal of American troops – perhaps by 5% every two months – also was a “nonstarter.”
“You withdraw when you win,” Snow said, adding that a phased withdrawal was a way of saying the US would withdraw regardless of the conditions on the ground.
The notions of partitioning Iraq and withdrawing troops have been floated recently as a blue-ribbon commission headed by former Secretary of State James Baker searches for a bipartisan approach.
Baker has said there are alternatives other than “stay the course and cut and run.”
Among other ideas, the panel is considering whether to set a timetable for withdrawal and whether to solicit help from Iran and Syria to stop the fighting, according to Leon Panetta, a member of the advisory group and one-time chief of staff for former President Bill Clinton.
Panetta says no decisions have been made.
President Bush had previously compared the intensifying violence in Iraq to the Tet offensive in Vietnam 38 years ago.
The Viet Cong and North Vietnamese armies undertook a series of attacks that shook America’s confidence about winning the war and eroded political support for then President Lyndon Johnson.
“There’s certainly a stepped up level of violence, and we’re heading into an election,” Bush said in an ABC News interview.
But he added, “My gut tells me that they have all along been trying to inflict enough damage that we’d leave. And the leaders of al Qaida have made that very clear.”
Bush said al Qaida was very active in Iraq. “They are dangerous. They are lethal. They are trying to not only kill American troops, but they’re trying to encourage sectarian violence.
“They believe that if they can create enough chaos, the American people will grow sick and tired of the Iraqi effort and will cause government to withdraw,” he said.
The military said yesterday that 11 US troops died in combat amid a security crackdown in Baghdad, putting October on track to be the deadliest month for American forces since the siege of Fallujah nearly two years ago.
Bush said the news of casualties “breaks my heart” but said it is surrender “if you pull the troops out before the job is done”.
