Last night al-Maliki told Lara Logan on CBS news that he fears a coup in his country:
Al-Maliki said that some of the officer corps have been creating problems and even violating the security of military operations. He stated, “I’m not afraid, but I have to watch the army, because those still loyal to the previous regime may start planning coups. Those people don’t believe in democracy, and for that reason we are monitoring the status of the army very closely.”
(Raw Story has the video)
That is understandable. I mean he is the leader of a country with an occupying force that a majority of the people don’t want. Talk about being in a pickle.
But something else, even more interesting, was said in the interview:
Al-Maliki also insisted that his government is not ordered around by the Americans, saying, “The Americans don’t order us to do this or not to do that. On the contrary, we’re the ones who tell them to do this and don’t do that.”
When Bush announced his surge in January he said one of the key parts of it was that we would be working more on our own, free from the constraints of the Iraqi government. That became even more evident during the fiasco surrounding the wall in Baghdad. Now al-Maliki is saying no to that.
So now that we are ending the 3rd deadliest month since the war started and the Democrats just decided to fund this war, what should be done? I missed the whole financing thing last week due to vacation, but I have some strong feelings about that. The Democrats are scared of being branded “cut and runners” if they didn’t fund the war, yet the troops are fearing the loss of their lives in this quagmire.
Three more months to decide? Well it took 6 months to get through this last bill, so figure on it being 9 more months. A lot of troops are going to die in that time and the blood is not only on the hands of Republicans, but also Democrats now. Perhaps al-Maliki shouldn’t be the only one afraid of a coup. This country is nearing the point of needing one to get rid of the corrupt criminals we call politicians.