Iraqi Prime Minister's Statement That Iraq Can Take Care of Itself Should the Americans Leave Suddenly: Bravado or Reality?

The Iraqi Prime Minister recently made some eyebrow-raising statements concerning political upheaval in Washington that could lead to a sudden pull-out of the U.S. military from Iraq. Said he: "...American troops can leave anytime they want." He also said that Iraqi troops are capable of taking over.

Really? Since when, exactly?

That sounds like bravado backed up by facts not in evidence. I would think that we've heard enough bravado in this war to make everyone uneasy over his choice of words. I believe al-Maliki misspoke and hurt his own cause.

It smells of someone else standing on the deck of a U.S. aircraft carrier with a "Mission Accomplished" banner over his shoulder, stating that major combat operations in Iraq were at an end, or that same person's declaration that he didn't care if bin-Laden was brought in, "dead or alive."

Politicians are the same the world over.

British Begin Pullout as Shiite Civil War Rages in Southern Iraq: If That's the New Measure of Success, We Should Pull Out of Baghdad Immediately

British Prime Minister Tony Blair went on British national TV and announced that 1,600 British soldiers will be out of Iraq by the end of summer. Blair and the White House said separately that success was the main reason that the British were able to begin pulling their army out.

Success?

Last time anyone looked, there was a full-scale Shiite civil war raging all around the British sector, which is centered around Basra. The Mahdi Army is trying to conquer the area for Muqtada al-Sadr and the British are claiming success?

If a civil war is the new measure of success, then why are we sending more troops to Baghdad while the British are beginning to pull out of southern Iraq? What??! What??! Baghdad isn't screwed up enough yet??! Oh. OK.

This war is getting stranger and stranger every day. Now utter disasters are being claimed as successes.