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Summary: U.S./Top News President Bush's speech Wednesday was less about Iraq than about Iran, writes Trita Parsi. There was little new about the US's strategy in Iraq, but on Iran, the President spelled out a plan that appears to be aimed at goading Iran into war with the US.
President Bush's call to increase the American military commitment in Iraq ran into intense Congressional opposition Thursday from Democrats and from moderate Republicans, the New York Times reports. Senator Biden issued a sharp warning after Defense Secretary Gates discussed recent raids against Iranians in Iraq, and described them as part of a new effort "to root out the networks" involved in bringing Iranian-supplied explosive devices into Iraq. Biden responded by saying that the vote to authorize the president to order the use of force to topple Saddam Hussein should not be used as a vehicle for mounting attacks inside Iran, even in pursuit of cells or networks assisting insurgents or sectarian militias. "I would like to have a legal response from the State Department if they think they have authority to pursue networks or anything else across the border into Iran and Iraq that will generate a constitutional confrontation here in the Senate," Biden said.
Lawmakers said they have little confidence that the Iraqi government has the capacity to deliver on promises to take the lead in cracking down on violent militias and providing security in Baghdad, the Washington Post reports.
Senator Dodd accused the administration of letting American soldiers be used as "cannon fodder," the New York Times reports. Senator Bill Nelson, a former supporter of administration policy, said he could no longer back the president.
Seventy percent of Americans oppose sending more troops to Iraq, AP reports. Just 35 percent of Americans think it was right for the US to go to war.
The commitment of 21,500 more troops is a political gimmick of limited tactical significance and of no strategic benefit, writes Zbigniew Brzezinski in the Washington Post. The decision to escalate U.S. military involvement while imposing "benchmarks" on the Iraqi regime, and to emphasize the threat posed by Syria and Iran, leaves the administration with two options once it becomes clear that the benchmarks are not being met. One option is to adopt the policy of "blame and run." The other alternative, perhaps already lurking in the back of Bush's mind, is to widen the conflict by taking military action against Syria or Iran. The speech did not explore even the possibility of developing a framework for an eventual political solution.
The Pentagon announced steps Thursday to make more reservists available for duty in Iraq and Afghanistan by changing the policies that govern how often members of the Army National Guard and Reserve can be mobilized, the New York Times reports. The new rules mean that individual Guard members and entire units that have already been deployed in the last five years may be called up again for as long as 24 consecutive months.
Demonstrators staged protests from Melbourne to Washington on Thursday against the U.S. military prison in Cuba where terrorism suspects have been held for years without trial, Reuters reports.
Iran The Iraqi foreign minister said Friday that the five Iranians detained by U.S.-led forces in Kurdish-controlled northern Iraq were working in a liaison office that had government approval and was in the process of being approved as a consulate, AP reports.
The attack on the Iranian diplomatic office was denounced by senior Kurdish officials, who regarded the action as an affront to their sovereignty, the New York Times reports. The incident was a major embarrassment for the Iraqi government, and calls into question the extent of Iraqi control over its own affairs. Local residents said the main function of the office was to process papers for people who want to go to Iran for visits or medical treatment.
Iraq Iraq's government offered only a grudging endorsement Thursday of President Bush's proposal to deploy more than 20,000 additional troops in Iraq, the New York Times reports. The tepid response raised questions about whether the government would make a good-faith effort to prosecute the new war plan.
Britain said Thursday that it would not follow the US in raising troop levels there and signaled that it would proceed with plans to hand over security responsibilities to Iraqi forces in the south, the New York Times reports.
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- Robert Naiman Just Foreign Policy www.justforeignpolicy.org