Who could have imagined that in the space of 24 hours, the US president would have to back down from his demands and rush to endorse Nouri al-Maliki after an irate comment from the Iraqi Prime Minister?
Iraq’s prime minister lashed out Wednesday at U.S. criticism, saying no one has the right to impose timetables on his elected government and that his country “can find friends elsewhere.”
Most ironic of all was Bush’s lament that the Iraqi Oil law (written in Washington) had hit a wall.
“Clearly, the Iraqi government’s got to do more,” Bush said. “I think there’s a certain level of frustration with the leadership in general, inability to work _ come together to get, for example, an oil revenue law passed or provincial elections.”
To make matters worse, Iraq and Syria announced an agreement to open a pipeline between the two countries.
Iraqi and Syrian oil ministers agreed on Wednesday to repair and subsequently reopen a key pipeline between their two countries that connects Iraq’s oil-rich Kirkuk region and a Syrian port.
This comes barely a week after Iraq and Iran announced a similar venture.