Condi: Still Drinking the Kool-Aid
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice indicated on Thursday that she still believed Iraq would emerge "as a country that is a stabilizing factor" for the Mideast, and that President Bush would not ask for continued investment if he -- and she -- did not believe the venture was worthwhile. Well, that's good to know. For a few years there, it seemed like they didn't know what they were doing.Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice indicated on Thursday that she still believed Iraq would emerge “as a country that is a stabilizing factor” for the Mideast, and that President Bush would not ask for continued investment if he — and she — did not believe the venture was worthwhile. Well, that’s good to know. For a few years there, it seemed like they didn’t know what they were doing.
Your support is crucial…AP via Yahoo:
Rice was asked whether an additional $100 billion the Pentagon wants for the Iraq and Afghan wars might amount to throwing good money after bad in Iraq.
President Bush and Congress have already provided more than $500 billion for the two conflicts and worldwide efforts against terrorism, including more than $350 billion for Iraq.
“I don’t think it’s a matter of money,” Rice said. “Along the way there have been plenty of markers that show that this is a country that is worth the investment, because once it emerges as a country that is a stabilizing factor, you will have a very different kind of Middle East.”
The top U.S. diplomat made the remarks as Bush faces mounting pressure from the public and members of Congress to find a fresh course in the long-running war. More than three-and-half years after the U.S. invasion that deposed Saddam Hussein, the conflict shows no signs of nearing an end and has cost the lives of more than 2,950 American troops.
Bush conceded this week for the first time that the U.S. is not winning the conflict, though he said it is also not losing.
“I know from the point of view of not just the monetary cost but the sacrifice of American lives, a lot has been sacrificed for Iraq, a lot has been invested in Iraq,” Rice said.
Bush would not ask for continued sacrifice and spending “if he didn’t believe, and in fact I believe as well, that we can in fact succeed,” Rice said.
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