Word: diplomatics
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...America's top diplomat and the President's most trusted lieutenant, Rice can't simply stay on the sidelines. The Iraq situation demands an immediate, high-profile, region-wide push for an acceptable political settlement, followed by a U.S. withdrawal. But that won't be possible until Rice accepts that her legacy will hinge not on spreading democracy or stopping genocide or facing down Iran, but on whether she can limit the damage to U.S. power and prestige caused by the Adminstration's misadventure in Iraq. In her two years as Secretary of State, Rice's achievements have consisted mostly...
...America, they can use terms like 'changing course' and 'new strategy,' but in Iraq the only thing of interest is how long the American soldiers remain," says a Western diplomat in Baghdad. "The received wisdom here has been that if the Republicans lose, the withdrawal will be speeded up. [Rumsfeld's departure] only confirms that suspicion...
...figures, expressing "a cold fury" at what they interpreted as American arrogance and insensitivity. "To them, the fact that [U.S. Ambassador Zalmay] Khalilzad didn't pick up the phone and tell [Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri] al-Maliki shows the Americans simply don't care about Iraqi opinion," says the diplomat. "If Abu Ghraib was a p.r. calamity, then this is Part II-another disaster...
...Even America's allies here bring up Abu Ghraib all the time, as proof of how little the U.S. understands Iraq. Last year, a European diplomat told me the infamous Abu Ghraib photos-some of them featuring Sgt Cardona-"did more damage to U.S. credibility in Iraq than a Cruise missile smashing into a kindergarden...
...final note: Many observers here are perplexed that the U.S. military would risk another p.r. debacle over a low-ranking soldier. "It is not as if this guy is some great commander, whose presence will make a big difference to the American military effort," says the diplomat, who asked not to be named because he is not authorized to speak with the media. "He's not a strategic asset, but he's become a tremendous strategic liability for the [U.S.] military...