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Length: 3:35
MILES O'BRIEN: Let's get right to Baghdad now. Our
Michael Ware is there.
Michael, for the top general in Baghdad to at least
put the prospect of additional troops on the table,
that seems like it's a little bit of a shift.
MICHAEL WARE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, it is. I mean,
the president, the administration's position has
always been, if they ask for it, they shall get it.
However, the commanders here on the ground, the
generals of the multinational force in Iraq, have
maintained that they have the forces they need to do
the job as it currently stands.
They've always left the doors open just a nudge.
Perhaps now we're starting to see them peek through
that small gap in the doorway.
But essentially, by and large, the outtake of this
press conference from both Ambassador Khalilzad and
General Casey is that they still believe that the
Iraq mission is not only salvageable but can succeed,
and within -- as Ambassador Khalilzad said --
reasonable timetables. They then laid out their
expectations, America's expectations for what Iraq
and the Iraqi government must deliver. They outlined
a series of benchmarks that they expect this
government to meet.
However, they're many of the same things we've heard
time and time again: rolling back de-Ba'athification,
engaging with the insurgency, tackling the militias.
These are all things we've heard over and over again
without any result. It's more wind so far.
We also saw Ambassador Khalilzad pointedly target the
role being played by the regional actors here, Syria,
and particularly Iran. He directly linked them, yet
again, to the violence here in Iraq, funding and
supporting that violence, looking to destabilize the
U.S. mission. So he very much ramped up and
reinforced the rhetoric on these external actors, all
the time saying that what happens in Iraq is vital,
profoundly important to the region, to American
security, and to global security.
But at the end of the day, the one question that went
unanswered is, "or what?" If these Iraqi partners --
who have proven to be weak, who don't share American
interests or are actively opposed to American
interests here in Iraq -- do not step up to the mark,
as Ambassador Khalilzad, what will happen? That was
not said -- Miles.
M. O'BRIEN: Well, and they -- but what was said is
that they do not have any direct conversations -- the
U.S. does not have any direct conversations with the
Mahdi army, Muqtada al-Sadr, the leader.
To what extent is Muqtada al-Sadr dealing with this
fledgling Iraqi government? Or is he really operating
on his own at this point?
WARE: Well, Muqtada is always Muqtada's own man. I
mean, U.S. military intelligence, for example,
believes that he's receiving millions of dollars a
month from Iranian sponsors. Yet, even if that's
true, and true to that extent, the Iranians
themselves would have difficulty dealing with
Muqtada. He's his own player.
However, he effectively is underwriting the prime
ministership of Nouri al-Maliki. That gives him a
huge stake and a huge say.
Now, the Americans so far have appeared to be
incapable of taking Muqtada on militarily or
politically. And there was nothing new in today's
press conference that would suggest that that's about
to change -- Miles.
M. O'BRIEN: Michael Ware in Baghdad.
Thank you very much.
Reflecting somewhat the status quo there in that news
conference.