More on "hugs"...

Submitted by J.S. (Canada), May 3, 2006 at 15:29

The optics from an Iraqi perspective surely look horrific...hardly "independent" or "sovereign" -- at the mercy of U.S. dictates...

However, from watching CNN, some reports implied that there was *another* message being delivered to Iraqi leaders. Some of the reports seemed to suggest that (behind the scenes) the Iraqi leaders were given an ultimatum to get their act together or else. In other words, rumblings about a quick U.S. pull-out (along with an announced scale-down of troops -- a troop reduction from 130,000 to 100,000).

So -- is there a kind of Saudi-style duplicity going on here? -- one message for the U.S. public -- "U.S. troops will stay the course!!" Another message to Iraqi leaders -- "You've got X number of weeks to get a working government formed -- to the U.S. administration's liking -- and, if not, we're gone."

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