War: Afghansistan and Iraq: NATO assembles leadership in Riga, Latvia; Canada asks for more combat-zone soldiers from other NATO member countries
.
ABC News carried a news dispatch from Associated Press regarding the NATO meeting in Riga, Latvia, a few days back. Altho the war to support democracy in Afghanistan (necessitating the neutering of the Taliban) was NATO's chief directly military concern at the Summit, also during the proceedings, the Bush Administration termed war developments in Iraq to constitute "a new phase" (many NATO members present in Afghanistan also deploy forces to the "coalition of the willing" allied with the USA, Britain, and Australia in Iraq (Canada is not present in the latter coalition).
Nevertheless, the USA spokesperson on the pro-democracy war in Iraq, held back from any notion that the conflict there has now become an inter-religious civil war between hardcore Shiite Muslims and hardcore Sunni Muslims, with the aid of foreign Sunnis led by Al Quaeda in Iraq (who follow a form of Wahabbist Sunnism originating from Saudia Arabia but now spread to many extremist Islamicist groups thru-out the world).
But, in refWrite's current analysis, the AlQuaeda presence in Iraq is not now dominant amdist the mayhem in the MidEast country, which seems to stem chiefly from indigenous Iraqi Sunni forces down to the level of clan warlords from region to region where Sunnis are strong.
TALLINN, Estonia Nov 27, 2006 — President Bush intensified diplomatic efforts on Monday to quell rising violence in Iraq and Afghanistan, turning to allies as his national security adviser said the conflict in Iraq had entered "a new phase" requiring changes.Europe > NATO Summit > Riga, Latvia
"Obviously everyone would agree things are not proceeding well enough or fast enough," National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley told reporters aboard Air Force One as Bush flew eastward.
The president was spending Monday night in this tiny Baltic nation ahead of a two-day NATO summit in Riga, Latvia, expected to deal with deteriorating conditions in Afghanistan, where NATO has 32,000 troops.
Both Estonia and Latvia are former Soviet republics that are strong allies in the war on terror.
Bush will head to Amman, Jordan, for talks Wednesday and Thursday with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and King Abdullah of Jordan.In other news Riga news, Canada made a dramatic call for more NATO-involved countries to help with the heavy work there, military work that involves combat and casualities; some countries responded favourably. This initiative was another foreign-policy succes for Canada's Prime Minister, Stephen Harper, and his Foreign Affairs Minister, Peter MacKay. The storm clouds of another election are now gathering in Canada, and the minority Conservative government has pioneered a dramatic alternative to the week-kneed policies and cliches of the previous scandal-ridden terms in office of the Liberals.
From Air Force One, the president spoke to the leaders of France and Egypt.
Addressing the upcoming meetings with al-Maliki, Hadley said, "We're clearly in a new phase characterized by an increase in sectarian violence that requires us to adapt to that new phase."
Bush and al-Maliki "need to be talking about how to do that and what steps Iraq needs to take and how we can support" Iraq's leaders, Hadley said.
The adviser rejected suggestions that Iraq had already spiraled into a civil war and said it was unlikely Bush would address with the Iraqi leader the issue of any U.S. troop withdrawals. "We're not at the point where the president is going to be in a position to lay out a comprehensive plan," Hadley said.
Hadley also said he believed that al-Maliki rather than Bush seemed more likely to bring up the subject of dealing with Iran and Syria, saying the Iraqi leader had strong views on the subject.
Bush received a briefing Sunday night at the White House from Vice President Dick Cheney, who had gone to Saudi Arabia over the weekend as part of the administration's expanded efforts to draw Iraq's neighbors into the search for a solution.
Importantly, said International Herald Tribuine, "Britain's Prime Minister Tony Blair warned that the alliance's credibility was at stake unless it regained the strategic initiative in the escalating war" in Afghanistan.
-- Politicarp
Further Research:
Future of Afghan War still murky after NATO Summit [IHT]
US prez seeks new ways to tackle Afghan govt [Times of India / Reuters]
No comments:
Post a Comment