Condoleezza Rice Assures Iraqis That We Will Never Leave Iraq

Technorati Tags: Condoleezza Rice, Charlie Rose, George W. Bush, Iraq war

Condoleezza Rice spins Iraq for Charlie Rose:

In an interview last night on the Charlie Rose Show, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice pointedly said, “[O]ur friends in the [Middle East] need to know and the Iraqis need to know that we are not looking to leave Iraq.” “Ever?” Rose asked. Rice responded, “We are not going to leave an Iraq that is not capable of defending itself and with a foundation for future reconciliation.”

Rose then asked Rice if she believed she’ll have the support of the American people to continue the war. Rice claimed the American people are looking for “progress.” Rose replied, “But nobody can answer the question: If it doesn’t happen, what?” Avoiding discussion of a Plan B, Rice answered, “Charlie, because as the President said to you, we’re focused on having it happen.”

In the interview, Rose also noted that Rice once worked for President George H.W. Bush, who was “famous for insisting there be an exit strategy. [But] no one seems to know what’s the exit strategy [now],” he said. Rice responded that Iraq is “a long-term proposition.”

When Rose asked Rice if the administration was “looking for a strategy for the United States to exit from Iraq.” Rice answered, “No, we’re looking for a strategy that is going to do what we went there to do.”

Here is the rest of that last statement:

"We're looking for a strategy that is going to do what we went there to do, which is to help the Iraqis create a more stable environment, lay a foundation for democracy and national reconcilation to evolve in Iraq, and to leave an Iraq, or to have an Iraq, that is able to defend itself and secure itself."

Excuse me? That's not what Bush went into Iraq to do! Bush went into Iraq to overthrow Saddam Hussein because (Bush said) he had weapons of mass destruction that he intended to use against the United States, and had the capability to use against the United States. Bush did succeed in his goal of overthrowing Saddam. He did not succeed in destroying Saddam's weapons of mass destruction, or in removing the threat Iraq posed to U.S. national security, because there weren't any weapons of mass destruction, and because Saddam was never a threat to anyone but his own people. And the Bush administration has actually been able to carry on that part of Saddam's legacy extremely well, and continues to improve its abilities in that area to this day.

Cross-posted at Shakesville.