French Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin told the new French international news channel France 24 late Wednesday: "I think that it is a first step for the Americans to at last see this war in Iraq for what it is."
Karsten Voigt, the German government's coordinator on relations with the U.S., said on n-tv television that: "We should be happy that there is a course correction in the United States."
"If we as Europeans and as Germans can help diplomatically, then we should," he said. "We are also ready to help with reconstruction in Iraq, if the security situation permits."
Yes, we know the way the Germans and the French help. They rejected any use of force against Saddam, and then it came out that both countries were benefiting from Saddam's government. Just a little self-interest, I guess.
But don't expect the Germans to send any troops as American involvement is phased out.
The report's proposal to engage Iran and Syria found approval — although talk of beginning a U.S. withdrawal made some officials wary that Washington may press European governments for help they are reluctant to give...
Voigt was clear that Germany would not send troops. Andreas Schockenhoff, a deputy leader of Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservatives in parliament, warned the U.S. against thinking there are "obligations for other NATO partners" from a withdrawal.
There were some people pleased about the Iraq Retreat Report.
Many Arabs on Thursday interpreted the bleak assessment of Bush's Iraq policies as proof of Washington's failure in the Middle East. But others worried about the consequences if the U.S. follows the Iraq Study Group's suggestions, warning that the report could fuel insurgents and others vying to fill Iraq's security vacuum.
Mustafa Bakri, an outspoken critic of the U.S. and editor of the Egyptian tabloid Al-Osboa, told a state-run television show that the report indicated "the end of America."
Bakri, who supports Syrian President Bashar Assad and the former regime of Saddam Hussein, urged Arab countries to "capture the moment as America now is in its weakest period."
The Iraq Study Group's report was the top headline in many Arab newspapers on Thursday, including the Egyptian opposition daily Al-Wafd, which declared: "Bush confesses defeat in Iraq."
The paper's editor, Anwar el-Hawari, predicted that "this is the real end of Bush rule, his policies and the neo-conservative groups."
I'm surprised we haven't seen them shooting off their guns and dancing in the streets. But remember: withdrawal isn't defeat, right?
Cross-posted at Common Sense Political Thought.
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