Many Iraqis dismiss Bush visit as stunt

U.S. President George W. Bush, left, meets with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, right, at the U.S. Embassy in the heavily fortified Green Zone in Baghdad, Iraq Tuesday, June 13, 2006. President Bush reviewed the next steps in the troubled three-year old Iraq war on Tuesday in a surprise visit to Baghdad and a meeting with newly named Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki. (AP Photo/Ahmad al-Rubaye, Pool)

By PATRICK QUINN, Associated Press Writer

Jun 13, 2006

BAGHDAD, Iraq -Many Sunnis and even some Shiite political parties dismissed President Bush's visit to Baghdad on Tuesday as merely an attempt to associate himself with positive developments in Iraq — formation of the new government and last week's killing of the country's most feared terrorist.

Bush's trip comes at a pivotal time for new Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki as he tries to convince Iraqis the country can stand on its own and end violence if they unite behind him. But instead of bolstering that effort, the visit could push away the very Sunni Arabs whom al-Maliki is trying to court.

Some Sunnis think the success of the Bush visit can be gauged only on al-Maliki's ability to persuade the U.S. president to start pulling some of the 130,000 American troops from the country.

"We hope that al-Maliki persuades Bush to announce a timetable for the withdrawal of U.S. forces, otherwise the visit is of no relevance to Iraqis," said Zafer al-Ani, spokesman for the Iraqi Accordance Front, the main Sunni Arab partner in al-Maliki's government.

The anti-American Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr planned a demonstration for Wednesday to protest Bush's presence in the country.

"This visit carries a lot of meanings, but this visit means nothing to the Iraqi street. There will never be any benefits from such a visit and the only one to benefit from this visit is Bush himself and his troops here, not the Iraqi people," said Hassan al-Robaie, a lawmaker loyal to al-Sadr.

Baghdad University political science professor Nabil Mohammed Selim said the president's trip was a bid to show the world that he has achieved something in this country, including the killing last week of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the leader of al-Qaida in Iraq. Bush's political standing in the United States portends a difficult election for fellow Republicans in November's congressional elections.

"In fact, nothing has been achieved in Iraq, hundreds of innocent Iraqis are being killed daily because of the chaos," Selim said.

On June 28, Iraq celebrates two years since the restoration of its sovereignty. In that time it has seen some success: three governments, two elections and a referendum on a constitution.

It has also seen a catastrophic failure to restore security and, more importantly, move the country away from sectarian killing and forced relocations that threaten to divide Iraq.

In Baghdad, dozens of people are blown up, shot or beheaded by sectarian gangs every day. Islamic extremists attack liquor stores, order women not to drive and shoot men for wearing shorts. The city of 6 million has become so dangerous that al-Maliki plans to restore security by flooding its streets with 75,000 Iraqi and American troops.

Bush and U.S. Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad have made much of the fact that al-Maliki and his national unity government are the result of three years of democratic progress. But it is an experiment in Middle Eastern civics that has cost thousands of American and Iraqi lives and arguably has been outpaced by the Sunni insurgency.

"I appreciate you recognizing that the future of the country is in your hands," Bush told al-Maliki as he came to Baghdad to congratulate the prime minister for finally assembling a Cabinet six months after parliamentary elections.

He lauded al-Maliki for bringing together Shiites, Sunni Arabs, Kurds and Christians in a government he hopes will convince insurgents of its impartiality.

"You've assembled people from all parts of your country, representing different religions, different histories and traditions. And yet the Cabinet here represents the entire Iraqi people," Bush said.

But many Iraqis are already wary of the Cabinet — assembled from second and third choices to overcome sectarian objections and bearing fingerprints of the Bush administration.

Khalilzad has often commented about the active role he played in the negotiations to form the government; many of those talks took place inside his residence.

"Bush does need to reinforce Khalilzad's efforts to produce stable political compromises, include the Sunnis, talk to the 'moderate' insurgents and prepare to appoint an inclusive body to review the constitution. U.S. pressure to reach a stable compromise between factions is critical," said Anthony Cordesman, an analyst at the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies.

But al-Maliki's political future may be bleak if he fails to convince Sunnis he is not a Washington puppet and truly wants to disarm Shiite militias and death squads blamed for hundreds of killings.
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Patrick Quinn is Chief of Southeast Europe News for The Associated Press and has reported frequently from Iraq since 2003.